Journal of Medical and Health Studies ISSN: 2710-1452 DOI: 10.32996/jmhs Journal Homepage: www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/jmhs JMHS AL-KINDI CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Copyright: © 2023 the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Published by Al-Kindi Centre for Research and Development, London, United Kingdom. Page | 110 | RESEARCH ARTICLE Association between Breastfeeding and Reduced Risk of Obesity in Childhood: A Cross-sectional Study in Ecuadorian Infants under Five Years of Age Jhon Ponce-Alencastro 1 ✉ Viviana Chilito-Osorio 2 , Pamela Ramos-Rivera 3 , Amanda Tenorio-Romero 4 , Edison Castro-López 5 , Karen Viña-Zambrano 6 and Stephanie Cruz-Pierard 7 1 Teaching Researcher, Medical Doctor, Health Faculty, Medical Sciences Department, Universidad Técnica de Manabí, Portoviejo, Ecuador 2 Medical Doctor, Hospital Padre Carollo, Quito, Ecuador. 3 School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador 4 Pediatrician, Ministry of Public Health, District 01D03- Technical Office 01D07, Camilo Ponce Enriquez, Ecuador 5 Medical Doctor, Centro de Especialidades Médicas Vital Médica's, Ambato, Ecuador 6 Medical Doctor, Hospital General IESS Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, Ecuador 7 Master in Human Nutrition, Universidad UTE, Quito, Ecuador Corresponding Author: Jhon Ponce-Alencastro, E-mail: scienceacrev@gmail.com | ABSTRACT Poor eating habits and an increased sedentary lifestyle are responsible for obesity being one of the main public health problems in Ecuador and the world. Several factors can modulate the risk of an infant to be obese, considering genetic, environmental and sociodemographic variables. The aim of this study is to analyze the evidence on the relationship between breastfeeding (BF) and obesity in childhood and thus contribute to the planning of prevention strategies from an early age. A nationally representative sample of children under 5 years of age from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT, 2018) was used. We used heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation tests of the data to rule out possible statistical modeling problems and used multicollinearity tests to avoid redundant information in the models. We also calculated confusion matrices to test the correct specification of the models. In addition, we used a binary logistic linear regression model where the Odds Ratio (OR) with their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated for each of the independent variables. Our results show that those children who were breastfed show a greater protective factor against obesity compared to those children who were not breastfed. That is, our results show that exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life increased 2 times (OR= 2.01; CI=1.91-2.17) the probability of not suffering from obesity. Other significant protective factors are the mother's age, the mother's educational level and the mother's area of residence. The recommendation derived from this research is that BF should be carried out until the sixth month of life of the infant and complemented with solid (non-milk) food until two years of age and beyond since this could protect against childhood obesity and its associated comorbidities in adulthood, although the benefit that BF can offer against the risk of obesity in the general population is small. | KEYWORDS Breastfeeding, Exclusive breastfeeding, Obesity, Overweight, Infants, Protection factor | ARTICLE INFORMATION ACCEPTED: 20 April 2023 PUBLISHED: 23 April 2023 DOI: 10.32996/jmhs.2023.4.2.14 1. Introduction Breastfeeding is optimal for the newborn and infant, a situation that has led the World Health Organization to recommend breastfeeding within the first hour after birth and as the only food for the first six months of life and up to two years or more,