Protein Concentration in Milk Formula, Growth, and Later Risk of Obesity: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The current evidence is insufficient for assessing the effects of reducing the protein concentration in infant formulas on long-term outcomes, but, if confirmed, this could be a promising intervention for reducing the risk of overweight and obesity in children. In view of the limited available evidence, more studies replicating effects on long-term health outcomes are needed.

Nutrition During Pregnancy, Lactation and Early Childhood and its Implications for Maternal and Long-Term Child Health: The Early Nutrition Project Recommendations

“…Systematic reviews were performed on published dietary guidelines, standards and recommendations during pregnancy (in preparation), in lactation [10] and in children up to the age of 3 years [11], with special attention to recommendations addressing long-term health consequences. In addition, systematic reviews of published data were performed on the impact of paternal and maternal body mass index (BMI) on offspring obesity risk [12], on effects of dietary and lifestyle interventions in pregnant women with a normal BMI [13] and on effects of protein concentration in infant formula on growth and later obesity risk [14]. We also considered the data of systematic reviews on the effects of growth in term infants and later obesity risk [15], the effects of growth in preterm infants on later health [16], on the age of introduction of complementary foods [17], and on the pre-and postnatal effects of dietary iron [18] and of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) [19].…”

“…Lowering the protein content of formula provided to infants, relative to more conventionally used protein contents as advised in the 1980s [108,109], is a promising intervention that can reduce the risk of later overweight and obesity in children [99,110]. More studies replicating the reported effects on long-term health outcomes are encouraged [14,20]. Formula with reduced protein content prevented excessive early weight gain [99,[111][112][113] and markedly reduced obesity prevalence at early school age [110].…”

Long-Term Health Impact of Early Nutrition: The Power of Programming

“…Other stakeholders have been specifically addressed with targeted communication. Evidence-based recommendations on optimized practice of nutrition before and during pregnancy, during the breast feeding period and the early life of infants, have been developed based on the project results and on systematic reviews of available evidence [35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42], in close collaboration with a broad group of stakeholders (prepared for publication). These recommendations are of considerable importance because most of the current guidance for pregnant women, particularly obese women, and for young children does not take into account the long-term programming consequences of early nutrition.…”

Life-Course Body Mass Index Trajectories Are Predicted by Childhood Socioeconomic Status but Not Exposure to Improved Nutrition during the First 1000 Days after Conception in Guatemalan Adults

“…The agestandardized prevalence of adult overweight (20-70 y) in Central America increased from 45% in 1994 to 59% in 2000 (4). In high-income countries, rapid weight gain during the first 2 y and high protein intake increase the risk of childhood overweight and adiposity (5)(6)(7). Conversely, the period of the first 1000 d after conception is a critical window to prevent 4 The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.…”