The relationship between breast milk leptin and adiponectin with child body composition from 3 to 5 years: a...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nutrition
• Metabolic Health
• Childhood Obesity Research

Background:

• Breast milk contains bioactive components influencing infant metabolism and potentially preventing early childhood obesity.
• An initial study examined breast milk leptin and adiponectin in relation to infant body composition up to 2 years.
• Higher breast milk total adiponectin correlated with increased fat mass and weight gain in children by age 2, while leptin showed no association.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between breast milk adipokines (leptin and adiponectin) and body composition in children.
• To assess anthropometric measures including body weight, BMI percentiles, skin-folds, body fat percentage, fat mass, and lean body mass.
• To extend the follow-up of mother/child pairs to evaluate adipokine associations up to 5 years of age.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal follow-up of 147 breastfeeding mother/child pairs from birth to 5 years.
• Collection of breast milk samples at 6 weeks and 4 months postpartum.
• Measurement of child anthropometric data (weight, BMI, skin-folds, body fat, fat/lean mass) at 3, 4, and 5 years.

Main Results:

• Breast milk adipokine levels showed minimal association with child anthropometric measures in preschool years.
• No significant correlations were found between breast milk leptin or adiponectin and body composition parameters at ages 3, 4, or 5.
• The predictive relationship observed in earlier childhood (up to age 2) did not persist.

Conclusions:

• Breast milk adipokines do not appear to be significant predictors of adiposity in preschool-aged children.
• The findings suggest that other factors may play a more dominant role in determining body composition beyond early childhood.
• Further research is needed to understand the long-term impact of breast milk composition on child metabolic health.