Breast-Feeding and Risk for Childhood Obesity
Response to Plagemann et al.
- Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis, PHD1,
- Sheryl L. Rifas-Shiman, MPH2,
- Li Zhou, BS1,
- Frank B. Hu, MD, PHD345,
- Graham A. Colditz, MD, PHD34 and
- Matthew W. Gillman, MD, SM245
- 1Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
- 2Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, Massachusetts
- 3Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts
- 4Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
- 5Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
- Address correspondence to Elizabeth J. Mayer-Davis, PhD, Center for Research in Nutrition and Health Disparities, University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health, 2718 Middleburg Dr., Columbia, SC 29208. E-mail: ejmayer{at}gwm.sc.edu
We appreciate the interest and comments of Plagemann et al. (1) regarding our study (2) on maternal status as a potential modifier of association of breast-feeding on childhood obesity. As noted, for the contrast of breast milk only versus formula only, the 95% CI excluded the null value, thus necessarily including values >1.0. From a statistical perspective, however, the best estimate for this contract is an odds ratio (OR) of 0.79, not a value >1.0. Furthermore, the test for dose …
