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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #62315
Title: INFLUENCE OF EARLY FEEDING MDOE ON BODY COMPOSITION OF INFANTS

Author
item BUTTE, NANCY - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item WONG, WILLIAM - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item FIOROTTO, MARTA - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item SMITH, E - BAYLOR COLL OF MEDICINE
item GARZA, CUTBERTO - CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Biology of the Neonate
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/1/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: We wanted to know if the way an infant is fed affects the composition (or makeup) of its body. We looked at a group of 10 breast-fed and 10 formulafed infants, all 1 month old, and another group of 10 breast-fed and 10 formula-fed infants who were all 4 months old. Measurements of the babies' body composition were taken. Average weight, length and thicknesses sof skinfolds were not different between feeding groups. But we did find certain important differences in body composition in the 4-month-old infants, using state-of-the-art methods of mesurement. Stated as a percentage of weight, total body water and fat-free mass of the formula-fed infants were higher, and body fat was lower, than those of the breast-fed infants at age 4 months.

Technical Abstract: To determine the effect of infant feeding mode on body composition, a cross-sectional study was designed in which 10 breast-fed and 10 formulafed infants were studied at 1 mo of age, and another 10 breast-fed and 10 formula-fed infants at 4 mo of age. Anthropometric measurements included body weights, lengths, selected diameters, circumferences and skinfold thicknesses. Total body water (TBWO) was measured by 18O dilution. A dose equivalent to 300 mg 18O/kg body weight was administered orally to the infants. Fat free mass (FFMO) was calculated from TBWO using reference hydration constants of 0.805 and 0.798 at 1 and 4 mo, respectively. Body fatO was taken as the difference between weight and FFMO. Total body electrical conductivity (TOBEC) measurements were used to estimate FFMT and fatT. ANOVA was used to analyze the anthropometric and body composition data using feeding mode and age as grouping factors. Anthropometric measurements did not differ by feeding mode. TBW (kg) and FFM (kg) and bod fat (kg) derived from 18O dilution or TOBEC did not differ by feeding mode. TBWO,T (%wt), FFMO,T (%wt), and body fatO,T (%wt) derived from 18O dilution and TOBEC differed significantly, between the breast-fed and formula-fed infants at 4 mo of age (p <0.05). Expressed as a percentage of body weight, TBWO and FFMO,T were higher and body fatO,T was lower among the 4-mo formula-fed infants.