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Energy intake in early infancy and childhood fatness
J C Wells1, M Stanley, A S Laidlaw
1Infant and Child Nutrition Group, Dunn Nutrition Unit, Cambridge, UK.
Insights
Early weaning in infancy was linked to reduced childhood fatness, but infant energy intake did not predict later body fat. This study explored infant feeding and its long-term effects on child body composition.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Childhood Obesity Research
- Infant Development
Background:
- Understanding infant feeding practices is crucial for long-term health outcomes.
- Early childhood fatness is a growing public health concern.
- The relationship between infant energy intake and later adiposity requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if infant energy intake influences childhood fatness.
- To examine the association between milk volume intake (MVI) and body composition in early childhood.
- To investigate the impact of weaning timing on later adiposity.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 20 healthy infants from 12 weeks to 2-3.5 years.
- Measured milk volume intake (MVI) using deuterium turnover.
- Assessed body composition and weaning status in infancy and childhood.
Main Results:
- Milk volume intake (MVI) was not correlated with infant skinfolds or body fat percentage.
- Early weaning at 12 weeks was inversely related to MVI and childhood skinfolds and fat mass.
- Neither MVI nor total energy intake predicted childhood fatness.
Conclusions:
- Early weaning appears to be associated with a moderate decrease in childhood fatness.
- Infant energy intake was not a significant determinant of later adiposity in this cohort.
- Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms linking early feeding to childhood body composition.
Objective:
To investigate whether aspects of infant energy intake are related to fatness in early childhood.
Design:
Longitudinal investigation of infants studied at 12 weeks and 2-3.5 y.
Subjects:
20 healthy infants, breast-fed or formula-fed, from the general population.
Measurements:
Milk volume intake (MVI) by deuterium turnover, estimated energy intake, weaning status and body composition in infancy, body composition in childhood.
Results:
MVI was not related to infant skinfolds or percentage fat. Weaning was inversely related to MVI (P < 0.04) at 12 weeks, and inversely related to skinfolds (P = 0.055) and fat mass (P = 0.020) in childhood. MVI and total energy intake were not related to childhood fatness.
Conclusions:
Early weaning was associated with a moderate reduction in childhood fatness. Two possible mechanisms are discussed. However, early infant energy intake was not an important determinant of later fatness in this population.