The major discussions about the topic relate to publication bias, the need for control by confounding factors and form to obtain data of breastfeeding [19, 24�C26]. Through the aspects presented, meanwhile this study aimed at evaluating the effect of exclusive breastfeeding and consumption of other foods in the first six months of life in the nutritional status and body composition of children from 4 to 7 years old participating in a project of extension supporting breastfeeding in the municipality of Vi?osa, MG, Brazil.2. Material and MethodsThis is a retrospective cohort study [27] whose sample consisted of children aged between 4 and 7 years, monitored for the first months of life by a support program to breastfeeding (PROLAC) in the city of Vi?osa, state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil, population around 72,220 inhabitants [28].

PROLAC is a program of the Federal University of Vi?osa (UFV), whose main activities are the implementation of guidelines in the postpartum period with a view to promote breastfeeding, in partnership with the Human Milk Bank of the municipality of Vi?osa and nutritional care to nursing mothers and children during their first year of life. The program began activities in August 2003 and has established protocols for the care and medical records to register the information and assessments, attending in PROLAC students of Nutrition of the Federal University of Vi?osa, from the sixth period of the course and participated for at least 6 months of training to perform the activities.

Inclusion criteria for the initial stage of the study considered the following: perform nutritional monitoring for at least 6 months in Drug_discovery the Program for children who received breast milk and for at least two months, provided that no mother’s milk was offered to the children at any time during this period to children who had been fed with artificial milk or who had been weaned during followup at PROLAC, stillborn [29], not having been born with low weight or macrosomia [30], and presence of identification data in PROLAC’s charts that allowed their residence location. The initial sample consisted of 256 children.Three attempts of location were made. Additional inclusion criteria after the location of the infant were the written consent of parents or guardians and conducting all phases of the study. It was considered as exclusion criteria the presence of diseases, changes in health, or use of medication by the children that could interfere in their nutritional status or body composition.