Polyunsaturated fatty acid content of mother’s milk is associated with childhood body composition

Pedersen, Louise; Lauritzen, Lotte; Brasholt, Martin; Buhl, Thora; Bisgaard, Hans

doi:10.1038/pr.2012.127

Cited by 52 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Our latter finding is supported by a very recent analysis of the Copenhagen Prospective Study on Asthma and Childhood, a cohort study primarily designed to assess children born to atopic mothers (30). Pedersen et al observed no associations between breast milk n-6/n-3 PUFA ratio at ~3 wk postpartum and body composition assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry between the age of 2-7 y.…”

Section: Milk Lcpufas and Infant Body Compositionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Breast milk fatty acid profile in relation to infant growth and body composition: results from the INFAT study

et al. 2013

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Background: There is some evidence that the n-6/n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) ratio in early nutrition, and thus in breast milk, could influence infant body composition. Methods:In an open-label randomized controlled trial (RCT), 208 healthy pregnant women were allocated to a dietary intervention (supplementation with 1,200 mg n-3 LCPUFAs per day and instructions to reduce arachidonic acid (AA) intake) from the 15th wk of gestation until 4 mo of lactation or to follow their habitual diet. Breast milk LCPUFAs at 6 wk and 4 mo postpartum were related to infant body composition assessed by skinfold thickness (SFT) measurements and ultrasonography during the first year of life. results: Dietary intervention significantly reduced breast milk n-6/n-3 LCPUFAs ratio. In the whole sample, early breast milk docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and n-3 LCPUFAs at 6 wk postpartum were positively related to the sum of four SFT measurements at age 1. Breast milk AA and n-6 LCPUFAs at 6 wk postpartum were negatively associated with weight, BMI, and lean body mass (LBM) up to 4 mo postpartum. conclusion: Breast milk n-3 LCPUFAs appear to stimulate fat mass growth over the first year of life, whereas AA seems to be involved in the regulation of overall growth, especially in the early postpartum period. t he amount of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) in human breast milk is subject to maternal nutrition and further modified by maternal adipose tissue stores (1), gestational age and stage of lactation (2,3), and the individual's genetic constitution (variants in the FADS1/2 gene cluster) (4,5). There is an ongoing debate about whether the amount of n-3 LCPUFAs, and particularly the proportions of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA,, provided to the developing infant during the breastfeeding period may result in functional differences of health outcomes in the offspring.As recently reviewed, there is insufficient evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to support or refute the practice of giving n-3 LCPUFA supplementation ("fish oil") to breastfeeding mothers to improve infant growth, children's neurodevelopment, visual acuity, or allergy risk (6).An upcoming question in the context of fetal programming of later disease susceptibility is whether the balance between the n-6 and n-3 LCPUFAs in early nutrition, and thus in breast milk, could play a role in childhood obesity (7). Although prenatal and/or postnatal n-3 LCPUFA supplementation has been shown to reduce obesity in rodents (8,9), although not consistently proven (10,11), evidence in humans is limited and restricted to a few post hoc studies using in large part inadequate methods to assess infant fat mass (12).The INFAT (The Impact of Nutritional Fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation for early human Adipose Tissue development) study addresses the question as to whether lowering the n-6/n-3 long-chain fatty acid (FA) ratio in the diet of pregnant and breastfeeding women may reduce adipose tissue growth early ...

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Section: Milk Lcpufas and Infant Body Compositionsupporting

confidence: 68%

Breast milk fatty acid profile in relation to infant growth and body composition: results from the INFAT study

et al. 2013

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“…There is indication that the provision of DHA during pre and postnatal period influences adiposity in infants [30,31] and preschool children [32,33]. We have assessed whether a similar effect was apparent in this study.…”

Section: Baselinesupporting

confidence: 46%

Efficacy of docosahexaenoic acid-enriched formula to enhance maternal and fetal blood docosahexaenoic acid levels: Randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

et al. 2016

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Daily supplementation of 600 mg DHA enhances maternal but not fetal DHA status in pregnancy complicated by GDM. The inefficacy of the supplement to improve fetal status suggests that the transfer of DHA across the placenta maybe impaired in women with the condition. Regardless of the mechanisms responsible for the impairment of the transfer, the finding has implications for the management of neonates of women with GDM because they are born with a reduced level of DHA and the condition is thought to be associated with a risk of neuro-developmental deficits. We suggest that babies of women with GDM, particularly those not suckling, similar to the babies born prematurely require formula milk fortified with a higher level of DHA.

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“…With regards to the period of lactation, only few studies have investigated the relation between breast milk PUFA concentrations and the development of adiposity in children who were breastfed. Similar trends were observed, such as a significant increase in body fat mass in 4-months-old breastfed infants whose mother's milk has high ratio of AA/ EPAþDHA (Rudolph et al, 2017), and a negative association between milk DHA content and the fat mass in infants aged from 2 to 7 years (Pedersen et al, 2012). Lastly, few randomized controlled trials have been conducted during pregnancy and/or lactation and exclusively by supplementing the maternal diet with long-chain n-3 PUFA between 0.2 to 1.2 g/d (reviewed in Hauner et al, 2013).…”

Section: Maternal Pufa Intake Obesity and Allergic Diseases 41 Obesitysupporting

confidence: 65%

Impact of maternal dietary lipids on human health

Guesnet¹,

Marmonier²,

Boyer³

et al. 2018

OCL

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-During the perinatal period, maternal dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) ensure optimal infant development. Observational studies on cognitive and visual development reported that a specific deficit intake in n-3 PUFA in pregnant women was associated with a reduction in visual acuity in 2-months-old infants. Moreover, a low docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) content associated with a high level of n-6 PUFA in breast milk was negatively associated with the degree of cognitive development in 6-years-old children. As regards to adipose tissue development, only observational human data agree with the hypothesis that excessive dietary intakes of n-6 PUFA compared with n-3 PUFA could promote the development of adipose tissue and obesity. With regard to immune system development, observational and clinical studies suggest that long-chain n-3 PUFA consumption during pregnancy may prevent the incidence of allergic diseases in children. Lastly, specific association between the maternal ingestion of food groups and the infant health has been studied mainly on allergic outcomes (fish, dairy products). Nutritional recommendations for PUFA intake in pregnant and lactating women were mainly based on brain development data, corresponding to breast milk levels of 10% of total fatty acids for linoleic acid, 1.5% for a-linolenic acid and 0.4% for DHA.Keywords: allergic diseases / dairy products / breast milk / brain development / maternal nutrition / obesity / polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) Résumé -Nutrition lipidique périnatale et santé de l'Homme. L'apport en acides gras polyinsaturés (AGPI) de l'alimentation maternelle participe au développement optimal du nourrisson et de l'enfant. Les études d'observation rapportent qu'un déficit spécifique d'apport alimentaire en AGPI n-3 pendant la grossesse est associé à une réduction du niveau d'acuité visuelle chez l'enfant à l'âge de 2 mois, et que le développement cognitif des enfants à l'âge de 6 ans est associé négativement avec une teneur faible en AGPI n-3 et élevée en AGPI n-6 dans le lait maternel. Elles montrent également qu'un déséquilibre du métabolisme maternel des AGPI en faveur de celui de la série n-6 par rapport aux n-3, favorise le développement du tissu adipeux et de l'obésité chez le jeune. Pour le développement du système immunitaire, les études d'observation et cliniques suggèrent que la consommation d'AGPI n-3 à longue chaîne pendant la grossesse peut prévenir l'incidence des maladies allergiques de l'enfant. Des données sont également disponibles concernant des classes d'aliments (poisson, produits laitiers) et l'incidence des manifestations allergiques. Les recommandations nutritionnelles destinées à la femme enceinte et allaitante s'appuient sur les données du développement cérébral, et correspondent dans le lait maternel à des teneurs d'environ 10 % des acides gras totaux pour l'acide linoléique, 1,5 % pour l'acide a-linolénique et 0,4 % pour le DHA.

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Polyunsaturated fatty acid content of mother’s milk is associated with childhood body composition

Cited by 52 publications

References 38 publications

Breast milk fatty acid profile in relation to infant growth and body composition: results from the INFAT study

Breast milk fatty acid profile in relation to infant growth and body composition: results from the INFAT study

Efficacy of docosahexaenoic acid-enriched formula to enhance maternal and fetal blood docosahexaenoic acid levels: Randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled trial of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

Impact of maternal dietary lipids on human health

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