The Associations between Breastfeeding Duration and Body Dissatisfaction, Ethnicity, and Obesity among Mexican Women, a Cross-Sectional Study, ENSANUT 2012

Abstract

Introduction: Body image dissatisfaction (BID) has been inversely associated with breastfeeding initiation particularly among women with obesity. However, less is known on BID and the association with maintaining breastfeeding in Mexico, where breastfeeding rate is decreasing across ethnic subgroups. Therefore, we explore this gap of knowledge in diverse ethnic subgroups across levels of maternal weight status. Methods: Data were derived from the Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Salud y Nutrición [ENSANUT] 2012), and 10,466 women aged 20-49 years were included. Breastfeeding (<6 months versus ≥6 months) of the last child, BID (Stunkard Figure Rating Scale), anthropometric (body mass index, BMI), sociodemographics, and biological variables were collected. Crude and adjusted target associations and effect modifiers were assessed using weighted-logistic regression models. Results: Overall, 72.4% of ever breastfeeding mothers breastfed a minimum of 6 months, 22% were indigenous, 74% were dissatisfied with their body image (BID >0), and 37% had obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m2). In the multivariable analysis, for each one-unit increase in the BID score, the adjusted odds of breastfeeding (≥6 months) decreased by 6% (odds ratio [OR] = 0.94, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.89-0.99). After stratifications, only among women with obesity, a greater BID score was associated with lower odds of breastfeeding duration by 24% (OR = 0.76, 95% CI: 0.64-0.89) in indigenous and by 10% (OR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.82-0.98) in non-indigenous women. Conclusions: Mexican women with a higher BID score reported lower odds of breastfeeding duration (≥6 months). Body image concerns should be integrated into a health promotion curriculum to mitigate their negative effect particularly in certain segments of the populations, such as women with obesity and among indigenous women.