Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T05:01:37.822Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Infant nutrition and lifelong health: current perspectives and future challenges

Part of: Sir David Barker Symposium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2015

S. M. Robinson
S. M. Robinson*
Affiliation:
MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK National Institute for Health Research Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, UK
*
*Address for correspondence: S. M. Robinson, MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK. (Email [email protected])
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Understanding the role and importance of nutrition in early postnatal life, as an influence on lifelong vulnerability to poor health, is an important part of current research. We need to be able to define optimal patterns of infant feeding, not just to support growth and development in infancy, but also as determinants of later health. To date, much of the focus on the long-term effects of infant nutrition has been on milk feeding, to compare breast and formula feeding and to evaluate the effects of exclusivity, timing and duration of feeding different types of milk in infancy; other aspects of infant feeding such as age at introduction of solid foods and type of weaning diet have received less attention, and relatively little is known about their links to later health. Contemporary data are needed to enable us to move beyond explanation of historical infant feeding data in order to understand and predict health outcomes in future generations. Ongoing and new population studies, that include infants from diverse settings, will be key to providing generalizable data that can be used to define optimal feeding practice. There are some methodological challenges ahead, although significant progress has already been made, and further progress is envisaged in the future. In particular, the opportunity to bring together epidemiological studies and new mechanistic insights that will help identify key aspects of infant nutrition and their causal effects offer great promise both in moving this field forward as well as the potential for health benefits for future generations.

Keywords

breastfeedingdietary patternsinfancyinfant nutritionweaning
Type
Review
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 6 , Issue 5: Themed Issue: David Barker commemorative meeting, September 2014; Prenatal Exposures and Health Outcomes , October 2015 , pp. 384 - 389
Check for updates
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. The Influence of Maternal, Fetal and Child Nutrition on the Development of Chronic Disease in Later Life. 2011. TSO: London.Google Scholar
2. Horta, BL, Victora, CG. Long-Term Effects of Breastfeeding. A Systematic Review. 2013. World Health Organisation: Geneva.Google Scholar
3. Hörnell, A, Lagström, H, Lande, B, Thorsdottir, I. Breastfeeding, introduction of other foods and effects on health: a systematic literature review for the 5th Nordic Nutrition Recommendations. Food Nutr Res. 2013; 57, 20823.Google Scholar
4. Adair, LS. How could complementary feeding patterns affect the susceptibility to NCD later in life? Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2012; 22, 765–769.Google Scholar
5. Barker, D, Barker, M, Fleming, T, Lampl, M. Developmental biology: support mothers to secure future public health. Nature. 2013; 504, 209–211.Google Scholar
6. Innis, SM. Impact of maternal diet on human milk composition and neurological development of infants. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014; 99, 734S–741S.Google Scholar
7. Baird, J, Fisher, D, Lucas, P, et al. Being big or growing fast: systematic review of size and growth in infancy and later obesity. BMJ. 2005; 331, 929.Google Scholar
8. Weng, SF, Redsell, SA, Swift, JA, Yang, M, Glazebrook, CP. Systematic review and meta-analyses of risk factors for childhood overweight identifiable during infancy. Arch Dis Child. 2012; 97, 1019–1026.Google Scholar
9. Brands, B, Demmelmair, H, Koletzko, B, EarlyNutrition Project. How growth due to infant nutrition influences obesity and later disease risk. Acta Paediatr. 2014; 103, 578–585.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Larnkjaer, A, Schack-Nielsen, L, Mølgaard, C, et al. Effect of growth in infancy on body composition, insulin resistance, and concentration of appetite hormones in adolescence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010; 91, 1675–1683.Google Scholar
11. Eriksson, JG, Forsen, TJ, Osmond, C, Barker, DJ. Pathways of infant and childhood growth that lead to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2003; 26, 3006–3010.Google Scholar
12. Barker, DJ, Osmond, C, Forsén, TJ, et al. Trajectories of growth among children who have coronary events as adults. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353, 1802–1809.Google Scholar
13. Bhargava, SK, Sachdev, HS, Fall, CH, et al. Relation of serial changes in childhood body-mass index to impaired glucose tolerance in young adulthood. N Engl J Med. 2004; 350, 865–875.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group. WHO Child Growth Standards based on length/height, weight and age. Acta Paediatr Suppl. 2006; 450, 76–85.Google Scholar
15. BMA Board of Science. Early Life Nutrition and Lifelong Health. 2009. British Medical Association: London.Google Scholar
16. Prentice, A. Constituents of human milk. Food Nutr Bull. 1996; 17, 305–312.Google Scholar
17. Hamosh, M. Bioactive factors in human milk. Pediatr Clin North Am. 2001; 48, 69–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Lönnerdal, B. Infant formula and infant nutrition: bioactive proteins of human milk and implications for composition of infant formulas. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014; 99, 712S–717S.Google Scholar
19. Kainonen, E, Rautava, S, Isolauri, E. Immunological programming by breast milk creates an anti-inflammatory cytokine milieu in breast-fed infants compared to formula-fed infants. Br J Nutr. 2013; 109, 1962–1970.Google Scholar
20. Field, CJ. The immunological components of human milk and their effect on immune development in infants. J Nutr. 2005; 135, 1–4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21. Duijts, L, Ramadhani, MK, Moll, HA. Breastfeeding protects against infectious diseases during infancy in industrialized countries. A systematic review. Matern Child Nutr. 2009; 5, 199–210.Google Scholar
22. Bhutta, ZA, Das, JK, Rizvi, A, et al. Evidence-based interventions for improvement of maternal and child nutrition: what can be done and at what cost? Lancet. 2013; 382, 452–477.Google Scholar
23. Ruchat, SM, Bouchard, L, Hivert, MF. Early infant nutrition and metabolic programming: what are the potential molecular mechanisms? Curr Nutr Rep. 2014; 3, 281–288.Google Scholar
24. Plagemann, A, Harder, T, Schellong, K, Schulz, S, Stupin, JH. Early postnatal life as a critical time window for determination of long-term metabolic health. Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012; 26, 641–653.Google Scholar
25. Thompson, AL. Developmental origins of obesity: early feeding environments, infant growth, and the intestinal microbiome. Am J Hum Biol. 2012; 24, 350–360.Google Scholar
26. Gale, C, Logan, KM, Santhakumaran, S, et al. Effect of breastfeeding compared with formula feeding on infant body composition: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012; 95, 656–669.Google Scholar
27. Monasta, L, Batty, GD, Cattaneo, A, et al. Early-life determinants of overweight and obesity: a review of systematic reviews. Obes Rev. 2010; 11, 695–708.Google Scholar
28. Huh, SY, Rifas-Shiman, SL, Taveras, EM, Oken, E, Gillman, MW. Timing of solid food introduction and risk of obesity in preschool-aged children. Pediatrics. 2011; 127, e544–e551.Google Scholar
29. Li, R, Fein, SB, Grummer-Strawn, LM. Do infants fed from bottles lack self-regulation of milk intake compared with directly breastfed infants? Pediatrics. 2010; 125, e1386–e1393.Google Scholar
30. Krebs, NF. Food choices to meet nutritional needs of breast-fed infants and toddlers on mixed diets. J Nutr. 2007; 137, 511S–517S.Google Scholar
31. Reilly, JJ, Wells, JC. Duration of exclusive breast-feeding: introduction of complementary feeding may be necessary before 6 months of age. Br J Nutr. 2005; 94, 869–872.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32. Koplin, JJ, Allen, KJ. Optimal timing for solids introduction – why are the guidelines always changing? Clin Exp Allergy. 2013; 43, 826–834.Google Scholar
33. FAO/WHO/UNU. Human energy requirements, 2001, report of a joint FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Consultation, Rome.Google Scholar
34. Kramer, MS, Kakuma, R. Optimal duration of exclusive breastfeeding. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2012; 8, CD003517.Google Scholar
35. Gishti, O, Gaillard, R, Durmuş, B, et al. Infant diet and metabolic outcomes in school-age children. The Generation R Study. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2014; 68, 1008–1015.Google Scholar
36. de Jonge, LL, Langhout, MA, Taal, HR, et al. Infant feeding patterns are associated with cardiovascular structures and function in childhood. J Nutr. 2013; 143, 1959–1965.Google Scholar
37. Przyrembel, H. Timing of introduction of complementary food: short- and long-term health consequences. Ann Nutr Metab. 2012; 60(Suppl. 2), 8–20.Google Scholar
38. Schack-Nielsen, L, Sørensen, Tla, Mortensen, EL, Michaelsen, KF. Late introduction of complementary feeding, rather than duration of breastfeeding, may protect against adult overweight. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010; 91, 619–627.Google Scholar
39. Moorcroft, KE, Marshall, JL, McCormick, FM. Association between timing of introducing solid foods and obesity in infancy and childhood: a systematic review. Matern Child Nutr. 2011; 7, 3–26.Google Scholar
40. Pearce, J, Taylor, MA, Langley-Evans, SC. Timing of the introduction of complementary feeding and risk of childhood obesity: a systematic review. Int J Obes (Lond). 2013; 37, 1295–1306.Google Scholar
41. Robinson, S, Marriott, L, Poole, J, et al. Dietary patterns in infancy: the importance of maternal and family influences on feeding practice. Br J Nutr. 2007; 98, 1029–1037.Google Scholar
42. Smithers, LG, Golley, RK, Brazionis, L, Lynch, JW. Characterizing whole diets of young children from developed countries and the association between diet and health: a systematic review. Nutr Rev. 2011; 69, 449–467.Google Scholar
43. Veena, SR, Krishnaveni, GV, Wills, AK, et al. Glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in Indian children: relationship to infant feeding pattern. Diabetologia. 2011; 54, 2533–2537.Google Scholar
44. Golley, RK, Smithers, LG, Mittinty, MN, et al. Diet quality of U.K. infants is associated with dietary, adiposity, cardiovascular, and cognitive outcomes measured at 7-8 years of age. J Nutr. 2013; 143, 1611–1617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
45. Voortman, T, Kiefte-de Jong, JC, Geelen, A, et al. The development of a diet quality score for preschool children and its validation and determinants in the generation R study. J Nutr. 2015; 145, 306–314.Google Scholar
46. Sahota, P, Gatenby, LA, Greenwood, DC, et al. Ethnic differences in dietary intake at age 12 and 18 months: the Born in Bradford 1000 Study. Public Health Nutr. 2015; 1--9 [Epub ahead of print].CrossRefGoogle Scholar
47. Robinson, S, Ntani, G, Simmonds, S, et al. Type of milk feeding in infancy and health behaviours in adult life: findings from the Hertfordshire Cohort Study. Br J Nutr. 2013; 109, 1114–1122.Google Scholar
48. Gale, CR, Marriott, LD, Martyn, CN et al. Breastfeeding, the use of docosahexaenoic acid-fortified formulas in infancy and neuropsychological function in childhood. Arch Dis Child. 2010; 95, 174–179.Google Scholar
49. Noble, S, Emmett, P. Differences in weaning practice, food and nutrient intake between breast- and formula-fed 4-month-old infants in England. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2006; 19, 303–313.Google Scholar
50. Poskitt, EM, Breda, J. Complementary feeding and non communicable diseases: current knowledge and future research needs. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2012; 22, 819–822.Google Scholar
51. Fall, CH, Borja, JB, Osmond, C, et al. Infant-feeding patterns and cardiovascular risk factors in young adulthood: data from five cohorts in low- and middle-income countries. Int J Epidemiol. 2011; 40, 47–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
52. Brion, MJ, Lawlor, DA, Matijasevich, A, et al. What are the causal effects of breastfeeding on IQ, obesity and blood pressure? Evidence from comparing high-income with middle-income cohorts. Int J Epidemiol. 2011; 40, 670–680.Google Scholar