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Published on: January 3, 2017
The effect of nutritional supplementation on physical activity and exploratory behavior of Mexican infants aged 8-12
N J Aburto1, M Ramirez-Zea, L M Neufeld
1Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341-3724, USA. gdi9@cdc.gov
Insights
Multiple micronutrient supplementation significantly enhanced physical activity and exploration in Mexican infants. This nutritional intervention proved beneficial for early childhood development, particularly for those at nutritional risk.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Public Health Nutrition
Background:
- Physical activity and exploration are crucial for infant physical and cognitive development.
- While nutritional supplementation aids severely malnourished infants, its impact on mild-to-moderately malnourished or nutritionally at-risk infants remains unclear.
- This study investigated the effects of multiple-micronutrient supplementation on activity and exploration in Mexican infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the impact of nutritional supplementation on physical activity and exploration in Mexican infants.
- To compare the effects of different types of supplements (micronutrient-only vs. fortified food) on infant development.
- To provide evidence for nutritional interventions in at-risk infant populations.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental design was employed, comparing a non-supplemented group (n=78) with a supplemented group (n=109) of infants aged 8-12 months.
- Supplementation involved daily intake for 4 months, with three types: micronutrient powder, syrup, or a milk-based fortified food supplement (FFS).
- Activity and exploration were measured via direct observation, analyzed using cluster analysis and logistic regression.
Main Results:
- Overall supplementation significantly increased the likelihood of high activity (OR=2.35) and high exploration (OR=1.87) compared to the control group.
- Micronutrient-only supplements (MM) boosted the odds of high activity (OR=2.64).
- Fortified food supplements (FFS) significantly increased the odds of high exploration (OR=3.16).
Conclusions:
- Nutritional supplementation demonstrated a positive effect on both physical activity and exploration in the studied sample of Mexican infants.
- Both micronutrient-only and fortified food supplements contributed to improved developmental outcomes.
- These findings support the use of nutritional interventions to enhance early childhood development in at-risk populations.
Background/Objectives:
Physical activity and exploration in infancy affect physical and cognitive development. Nutritional supplementation improves activity in severely malnourished infants, but the evidence in mild-to-moderately malnourished and nutritionally at-risk infants is equivocal. We tested the effect of multiple-micronutrient supplementation on physical activity and exploration in Mexican infants.
Subjects/Methods:
Using a quasi experimental design, we analyzed data from a supplementation study that lacked a placebo-control group. We compared infants between 8 and 12 months measured at baseline who had received no supplementation (comparison group, n=78), with infants 8-12 months measured after 4 months of daily supplementation (treatment group, n=109). The treatment consisted of three supplement types: micronutrient powder, syrup (each containing only micronutrients) and a milk-based, fortified-food supplement (FFS; containing micronutrients and macronutrients). We formed the micronutrient-only group (MM) by combining the micronutrient powder and syrup groups. We measured activity and exploration by direct observation and used cluster analysis to form and characterize activity and exploration clusters. We performed logistic regression with activity or exploration cluster as the outcome variable and treatment versus comparison and MM or FFS versus comparison as the predictor variables.
Results:
Treatment versus comparison increased the odds of being in the high activity (odds ratio (OR)=2.35, P<0.05) and high exploration (OR=1.87, P<0.05) cluster. MM increased the odds of being in the high activity (OR=2.64, P<0.05) cluster and FFS increased the odds (OR=3.16, P<0.05) of being in the high exploration cluster.
Conclusions:
Nutritional supplementation benefited activity and exploration in this sample of Mexican infants.
