Breast-Feeding, Inter-Birth Intervals and Household Budgets: A Biodemographic Framework for Linking Changes in Fertility and Obesity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Daniel Hruschka, Arizona State University
Ashley Hagaman, Arizona State University

Women in low-to-middle-income countries have simultaneously witnessed a fall in fertility and a rise in adiposity. In a biodemographic framework, these transitions are potentially linked as women shift from reproduction to storing energy. Using demographic and health survey data from 59 countries, we estimate the effect of gestation, lactation, and economic resources on total fat mass (proxied by BMI) among women from households with budgets less than 9 USD/person/day. Both the magnitude and direction of fertility’s effect on BMI depend on three factors: breastfeeding, inter-birth intervals, and household budgets. Non-breastfeeding mothers show a post-partum surplus of 0.26 kg/m2 regardless of household budgets. Breastfeeding mothers, on the other hand, move to a deficit that depends on household budget (0.6 to 0.3 kg/m2) and recover to baseline at 24 months pp. These findings illustrates how integrating economic and energetic resources in a common framework can help clarify potential linkages between key demographic changes.