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Sexually dimorphic response to feeding mode in the growth of infants

Tuck Seng Cheng1, See Ling Loy2, Yin Bun Cheung3

  • 1Department of Paediatrics.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|January 1, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Infant feeding mode and sex interact to influence infant growth, particularly length-for-age z scores. Formula-fed girls showed greater length gains than breastfed girls between 6-12 months.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Nutritional Science

Background:

  • Extensive research links infant feeding to growth.
  • Limited studies explore sex-specific effects of infant milk feeding on growth.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the interaction between infant feeding mode and sex on infant growth.
  • To compare growth trajectories in breastfed versus formula-fed boys and girls.

Main Methods:

  • A Singapore mother-offspring cohort of 932 infants was studied.
  • Infant feeding was categorized into breastfeeding (BF), mixed feeding (MF), and formula feeding (FF) for the first 6 months.
  • Weight-for-age z scores (WAZs) and length-for-age z scores (LAZs) were calculated and analyzed for changes across age intervals (0–6, 6–12, 12–24 months).

Main Results:

  • A significant interaction between feeding mode, sex, and age interval was found for length-for-age z score (LAZ) changes (P = 0.003).
  • Breastfed boys showed greater LAZ gain than breastfed girls between 6–12 months (+0.39 vs. -0.10).
  • Formula-fed boys and girls exhibited greater LAZ gains than breastfed infants from 0–6 months. Formula-fed girls, but not boys, showed higher LAZ gain than breastfed girls from 6–12 months (+0.25 vs. -0.10).

Conclusions:

  • Infant milk feeding elicits a sexually dimorphic growth response during infancy.
  • Findings question the sex-neutral approach to formula feeding.
  • Further research on sex-specific infant feeding and growth is needed.
Abstract

Keywords:
breastfeedingformula feedinggendergrowthinfantinteraction

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