DOES HABITUAL PROTEIN INTAKE IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD INFLUENCE AGE AND BODY MASS INDEX AT ADIPOSITY
REBOUND?
Results of the DONALD Study
Anke L. B. Günther, Anette E. Byuken, Sebastian Hahn, Mathilde Kersting, Anja Kroke
Research Institute of Child Nutrition, Heinstueck 11, 44225 Dortmund, Germany
Introduction: Both age and body mass index (BMI) at adiposity rebound (AR), the point of a child’s minimum BMI before its gradual increase during childhood, have been shown to be associated with the risk for later obesity. High protein intake has been proposed to influence timing of the adiposity rebound (AR) and to increase the risk for overweight.
Methods: We examined the relations between habitual protein intake (assessed with annual 3-d weighed food records) in early childhood and age and BMI at AR in 131 children participating in the Dortmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed Study (DONALD Study). Height and weight were measured annually and AR was determined by visual inspection of individual BMI curves. Mean age and internal BMI-SDS at AR were compared between sex-specific tertiles of overall protein intake.
Results: Age at AR was not significantly different between the sex-specific tertiles of habitual energy-adjusted protein intake (% of energy) in girls and boys. There were no differences between tertiles of overall protein intake expressed as g/kg body weight in age and BMI at AR in both boys and girls.
Adjustment for the potential confounders mother’s BMI, internal BMI-SDS at birth, duration of pregnancy and breastfeeding did not change these results.ff Conclusion: A high habitual protein intake averaged from at least three 3-day weighed dietary records between 0.5 and 2 years was not found to have consistent influence on timing of AR or BMI at AR.
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