All infant formulas are not equal, especially when it comes to reducing the risk of obesity. Researchers at the University of Munich (Germany) have revealed that lowering the protein content of infant milk, might lower the risk of the infant to have weight problems when he's older.
Veronique Molénat
Obesity is a complex problem. We now know that food is not the only cause of genetic factors predispose some people to grow much more easily than others. However, it was also observed that infants fed with artificial milk had more weight problems later than those who were breastfed.
Berthold Koletzko and colleagues wondered whether the reason was not related to the protein content of these milks.
To test this hypothesis, they followed between October 2002 and July 2006, 990 children in the program of the European Union on childhood obesity. The researchers compared the effect on their growth and metabolism of both types of supplies: milk powder rich in protein (3g/100kcal between 0 and 4 months and 4.5 g/100kcal between 5 and 12 months) and poorer milk protein that is to say composition similar to that of breast milk (1.8 g/100kcal then 2.25 g/100kcal). The children were followed until the age of 2 years and their growth performance compared with a group of infants breastfed.
The monitoring results, presented at the conference Earnest on childhood obesity held last week in Budapest (Hungary), show that children in the group "low protein" have the same development stature as those been breastfed. In the metabolic and hormonal level, these children derive the same benefit from their diet than those who received breast milk. Furthermore, no child in the study had experienced a problem of growth which suggests that milk low in protein can be considered safe.
For Berthold Koletzko, "this study suggests that it is essential to promote and encourage breastfeeding and improve the parallel composition of infant formulas and recommend the most appropriate formulations. The results have not yet been published but for the researcher, they "confirm once more that the mode of feeding may have effects''programming''long-term early development and future health of a child ".
Further studies should be conducted to ascertain whether the benefits observed in children with two years still in their growth.
Veronique Molénat
Obesity is a complex problem. We now know that food is not the only cause of genetic factors predispose some people to grow much more easily than others. However, it was also observed that infants fed with artificial milk had more weight problems later than those who were breastfed.
Berthold Koletzko and colleagues wondered whether the reason was not related to the protein content of these milks.
To test this hypothesis, they followed between October 2002 and July 2006, 990 children in the program of the European Union on childhood obesity. The researchers compared the effect on their growth and metabolism of both types of supplies: milk powder rich in protein (3g/100kcal between 0 and 4 months and 4.5 g/100kcal between 5 and 12 months) and poorer milk protein that is to say composition similar to that of breast milk (1.8 g/100kcal then 2.25 g/100kcal). The children were followed until the age of 2 years and their growth performance compared with a group of infants breastfed.
The monitoring results, presented at the conference Earnest on childhood obesity held last week in Budapest (Hungary), show that children in the group "low protein" have the same development stature as those been breastfed. In the metabolic and hormonal level, these children derive the same benefit from their diet than those who received breast milk. Furthermore, no child in the study had experienced a problem of growth which suggests that milk low in protein can be considered safe.
For Berthold Koletzko, "this study suggests that it is essential to promote and encourage breastfeeding and improve the parallel composition of infant formulas and recommend the most appropriate formulations. The results have not yet been published but for the researcher, they "confirm once more that the mode of feeding may have effects''programming''long-term early development and future health of a child ".
Further studies should be conducted to ascertain whether the benefits observed in children with two years still in their growth.
No comments:
Post a Comment