This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Protein consumption in early childhood associated with fat mass at age 10 years
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
A high intake of total and animal protein in early childhood — from both dairy and nondairy sources — is associated with increased body fat, but not lean mass, at age 10 years, according to findings presented at the European Congress on Obesity,
In a population-based cohort study of Dutch children, researchers also found that any associations with fat mass persisted regardless of whether protein replaced carbohydrates or fats in the diet.
“Infants and toddlers in most Western countries are, on average, consuming way too much protein (also based on data from other studies and surveys), and at this young age, specifically, this may have long-term consequences for their risk of adiposity,” Trudy Voortman, PhD, a doctoral researcher at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, told Endocrine Today.
A previous large trial comparing high- and low-protein infant formulas, Voortman said, already showed that high protein intake in infancy leads to higher BMI in childhood.
“In our observational study, we observed the same results in a population-based setting, and we extended this trial evidence by showing that particularly fat mass, and not fat-free mass, is affected,” Voortman said. “This is important to distinguish, as BMI alone is generally not a good proxy for adiposity, especially in children.”
Voortman and colleagues analyzed data from 3,564 Dutch children whose dietary intake was assessed using food-frequency questionnaires at age 1 year. Researchers calculated intake of total protein and protein from different sources, as well as total carbohydrates, polysaccharides, monosaccharides and disaccharides, and of total, saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat.
Participants had their height and weight repeatedly measured from age 1 to 10 years; fat mass index and fat-free mass index were assessed via DXA at age 6 and 10 years. The data were adjusted for maternal age and education, race, total energy intake, breast-feeding status and physical activity levels.
Higher intake of both total and animal protein (from dairy and nondairy sources) was associated with greater height, weight and BMI up to age 10 years, the researchers wrote, adding that results persisted whether protein replaced carbohydrates or fats in the diet.
Further analysis revealed that the association between high-protein consumption and high BMI could be explained entirely by increases in fat mass index, with no increase in fat-free mass index as may be expected in adults.
“This has implications for the development of food products targeted at young children, such as infant formulas and toddler foods, and should be taken into account in more age-specific dietary guidelines,” Voortman said. “High protein intake may have different effects on health in different phases of life.” – by Regina Schaffer
Reference:
Voortman T. Oral presentation OS10:O43. European Congress on Obesity; May 17-20, 2017; Porto, Portugal.
Disclosure: Voortman reports no relevant financial disclosures.