Abstract
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.
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Wells, J., Stanley, M., Laidlaw, A. et al. Energy intake in early infancy and childhood fatness. Int J Obes 22, 387–392 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800572
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ijo.0800572
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