Search

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study measured the effects of dietary supplementation with lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) on 18-month-old children's physical activity. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a randomised, controlled, outcome-assessor blinded trial 1932 six-month-old children from Malawi received one of five interventions daily from 6-18 months of age: 10-g milk-LNS, 20-g milk-LNS, 20-g non-milk-LNS, 40-g milk-LNS or 40-g non-milk-LNS, or received no intervention in the same period (control). The control group received delayed intervention with corn-soy blend from 18-30 months. Physical activity was measured over 1 week by ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer at 18 months. Main outcome was mean vector magnitude accelerometer counts/15 s. Analyses were restricted to children with valid accelerometer data on at least 4 days with minimum 6 h of wearing time per day. RESULTS: Of the 1435 children recruited to this substudy, 1053 provided sufficient data for analysis. The mean (s.d.) vector magnitude accelerometer counts in the total sample were 307 (64). The difference (95% CI) in mean accelerometer counts, compared with the control group, was 8 (-6 to 21, P = 0.258) in 10-g milk-LNS, 3 (-11 to 17, P = 0.715) in 20-g milk-LNS, 5 (-8 to 19, P = 0.445) in 20-g non-milk-LNS, 10 (-3 to 23, P = 0.148) in 40-g milk-LNS and 2 (-12 to 16, P = 0.760) in 40-g non-milk-LNS groups. CONCLUSIONS: Provision of 10-40 g doses of LNS daily for 12 months did not increase physical activity of Malawian toddlers. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2015) 69, 173-178; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2014.138; published online 16 July 2014, INTRODUCTION Lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNSs) provide energy, protein, essential fatty acids and multiple micronutrients in a form that has a long shelf life, is palatable and is easy to consume. [...]

Objective: To describe the seasonal growth patterns in Shanghai infants, to explore seasonal time lag between weight gain and length gain, and to investigate the long-term effect of birth season on early postnatal growth. Design: Community-based longitudinal study. Setting: Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Method: Children were followed up monthly from 1 to 6 months, 3 monthly from 6 to 12 months, and 6 monthly from 12 to 24 months. Subjects: A total of 6018 children born between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1990. Main outcome measures: Weight gain, length gain and change in body mass index (BMI) over the seasons of the year. Results: The infants tended to grow faster in height in spring and summer, and faster in weight and BMI in autumn and winter. The seasonal effect on weight gain and length gain is largely independent. The mean length value at 1 month of age was about 2.0 cm higher in infants born in May to July than in those born in November to February. At 24 months of age this difference was reduced to about 0.7 cm. Conclusions: There is a clear and consistent seasonality in growth in Shanghai infants. The seasonality seems to act independently on weight and length. Birth month has some association with attained size, but this is reduced during the first 2 y of life. Sponsorship: Children's Hospital of Shanghai Medical University, Shanghai; The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR. Descriptors: infant; growth; seasonality; longitudinal study, Introduction Seasonal variation has long been known as a common feature of linear growth in developing countries. Infants tend to grow faster in height in spring and summer and faster [...]