title: Breast milk fatty acid profile in relation to infant growth and body composition: results from the INFAT study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is some evidence that the n-6/n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) ratio in early nutrition, and thus in breast milk, could influence infant body composition.
  
  
  METHODS
  In an open-label randomized controlled trial (RCT), 208 healthy pregnant women were allocated to a dietary intervention (supplementation with 1,200 mg n-3 LCPUFAs per day and instructions to reduce arachidonic acid (AA) intake) from the 15th wk of gestation until 4 mo of lactation or to follow their habitual diet. Breast milk LCPUFAs at 6 wk and 4 mo postpartum were related to infant body composition assessed by skinfold thickness (SFT) measurements and ultrasonography during the first year of life.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dietary intervention significantly reduced breast milk n-6/n-3 LCPUFAs ratio. In the whole sample, early breast milk docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and n-3 LCPUFAs at 6 wk postpartum were positively related to the sum of four SFT measurements at age 1. Breast milk AA and n-6 LCPUFAs at 6 wk postpartum were negatively associated with weight, BMI, and lean body mass (LBM) up to 4 mo postpartum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Breast milk n-3 LCPUFAs appear to stimulate fat mass growth over the first year of life, whereas AA seems to be involved in the regulation of overall growth, especially in the early postpartum period.
authors.affiliation: Else Kröner-Fresenius Center for Nutritional Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Much
authors.forename: Stefanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brunner
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vollhardt
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Eva-Maria
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Sedlmeier
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brüderl
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heimberg
authors.forename: Nana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bartke
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Boehm
authors.forename: Bernhard L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Bader
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Amann-Gassner
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hauner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry*; D011247:Pregnancy; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated