International Journal of Pediatrics 5 Table 3: Sample, estimated national characteristics, and range of values for measurements in 3,644 3-to-6-year-olds in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999–2008. Total sample Anthropometrics BMI (kg/m2) Waist Circumference (cm) CVD risk factor C-reactive protein (mg/dL) Total cholesterol (mg/dL) HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) Non-HDL cholesterol (mg/dL) LDL cholesterol (mg/dL) Triglycerides (mg/dL) Prenatal, infant, and social risk factor Breastfed Solid food <6 months Smoking while pregnant Low birth weight Poverty income ratio <1 Poverty income ratio <2 CVD risk factor BMI ≥85 %ile for age, sex BMI ≥95 %ile for age, sex Waist circumference1 C-reactive protein1 Total cholesterol1 HDL cholesterol2 LDL cholesterol1 Triglyceride1 1 Highest quintile 2Lowest quintile N 3,644 3,555 3,456 2,521 1,754 1,752 1,751 625 626 N 3,628 3,594 3,626 3,343 3,378 3,378 N 3,555 3,555 3,456 2,521 1,754 1,752 625 626 Weighted N 14,535,068 14,165,622 13,795,833 9,679,388 6,895,867 6,885,787 6,884,098 5,807,247 5,811,466 Weighted N 14,485,571 14,340,199 14,459,865 13,299,081 13,649,782 13,649,782 Weighted N 14,165,622 14,165,622 13,795,833 9,679,388 6,895,867 6,885,787 5,807,247 5,811,466 Mean 4.52 16.30 53.86 0.16 161.88 51.95 20.8 92.75 84.87 Percent Percent 64.8 42.0 17.4 9.7 25.3 51.6 24.5 12.7 20.7 21.0 21.0 18.3 23.3 21.8 95% CI 4.48–4.57 16.20–16.39 53.56–54.17 0.13–0.19 160.07–163.68 51.18–52.72 17.9–23.6 90.58–94.92 78.37–91.37 95% CI 61.7–67.9 39.4–44.5 14.9–19.8 8.1–11.3 23.0–27.6 48.2–55.0 95% CI 22.6–26.3 11.3–14.1 18.8–22.6 18.9–23.0 18.6–23.5 15.7–20.8 19.2–27.4 16.9–26.8 protective against obesity and smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for obesity in NHW. Low birth weight was not a risk factor for CVD risk factors, particularly among NHW women. With the exception of breastfeeding being protective against the highest quintile of non-HDL cholesterol in NHB, early introduction of solid foods, smoking during pregnancy, and low birth weight were not found to be related to CVD risk factors in early childhood. Previous NHANES analyses have shown mixed results when analyzing whether or not breastfeeding is protective against children becoming overweight and that there is a dose-dependent eﬀect based on duration. One analysis of infant feeding and child overweight status among 3-to-5- year olds from the NHANES III showed that after adjusting for potential confounders, there was a reduced risk of being overweight for ever-breastfed children compared with those never breastfed [22]. However, there was no reduced risk of being overweight (obese). Furthermore, there was no demonstrable threshold eﬀect or clear dose-dependent eﬀect of the duration of full breastfeeding on being at risk of overweight or overweight (now termed overweight and obese). Other large population-based studies have also examined whether increasing duration of breastfeeding is associated with a lower risk of overweight in a low-income population of 4-year olds in the United States. Analysis from the Pedi- atric Nutrition Surveillance System [23] of children up to 60 months of age found that the duration of breastfeeding showed a dose-response, protective relationship with the risk of overweight only among NHW; no signiﬁcant association was found among NHB or Hispanics, very similar to our results reported here. Others have examined a broad range of factors that may simultaneously contribute to childhood overweight in a pop- ulation-based cohort of children followed from birth to 4.5 years, to determine which factors exert the most inﬂuence in early life [24]. The Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development 1998–2002 (QLSCD) followed a representative sample (n = 2103) of children born in 1998 in the Canadian province of Quebec. Measured height and weight were