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Pediatrics

Protein intake in early childhood and body composition at the age of 6 years: The Generation R Study

International Journal of Obesity volume 40, pages 1018–1025 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background:

Previous studies suggest that high protein intake in infancy leads to a higher body mass index (BMI) in later childhood. We examined the associations of total, animal and vegetable protein intake in early childhood with detailed measures of body composition at the age of 6 years.

Methods:

This study was performed in 2911 children participating in a population-based cohort study. Protein intake at the age of 1 year was assessed with a validated food-frequency questionnaire and was adjusted for total energy intake. At the children’s age of 6 years, we measured their anthropometrics and body fat (with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry). We calculated age- and sex-specific s.d. scores for BMI, fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI).

Results:

After adjustment for confounders, a 10 g per day higher total protein intake at 1 year of age was associated with a 0.05 s.d. (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.00, 0.09) higher BMI at age 6. This association was fully driven by a higher FMI (0.06 s.d. (95%CI 0.01, 0.11)) and not FFMI (−0.01 s.d. (95%CI −0.06, 0.05)). The associations of protein intake with FMI at 6 years remained significant after adjustment for BMI at the age of 1 year. Additional analyses showed that the associations of protein intake with FMI were stronger in girls than in boys (P for interaction=0.03), stronger among children who had catch-up growth in the first year of life (P for interaction<0.01) and stronger for intake of animal protein (both dairy and non-dairy protein) than protein from vegetable sources.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that high protein intake in early childhood is associated with higher body fat mass, but not fat-free mass. Future studies are needed to investigate whether these changes persist into adulthood and to examine the optimal range of protein intake for infants and young children.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of children and parents, hospitals, general practitioners and midwives who participated in the Generation R Study. We thank Nicole Erler for providing advice on the statistical analyses. The general design of the Generation R Study was made possible by financial support from Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam; the Erasmus University, Rotterdam; the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport; and the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw). TV, KVEB, JCKJ, OHF and EHH work in ErasmusAGE, a center for aging research across the life course funded by Nestlé Nutrition (Nestec Ltd.), Metagenics Inc. and AXA. The funders had no role in design or conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis or interpretation of the data; or preparation, review or approval of the manuscript.

Author contributions

The authors’ contributions to this study were as follows: TV, OHF and EHH designed the research project; VWVJ, AH and OHF were involved in the design and planning of the study and data collection; TV and KVE conducted the analyses; JCKJ, OHF and EHH provided consultation regarding the analyses and interpretation of the data; TV, KVE and EHH wrote the paper; and TV and EHH had primary responsibility for the final content. All authors critically reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    T Voortman & V W V Jaddoe

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    T Voortman, K V E Braun, J C Kiefte-de Jong, V W V Jaddoe, O H Franco & E H van den Hooven

  3. Leiden University College, The Hague, The Netherlands

    J C Kiefte-de Jong

  4. Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

    V W V Jaddoe

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  1. T Voortman
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Correspondence to T Voortman.

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Voortman, T., Braun, K., Kiefte-de Jong, J. et al. Protein intake in early childhood and body composition at the age of 6 years: The Generation R Study. Int J Obes 40, 1018–1025 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2016.29

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