title: Effect of a nutritional supplement on growth in short and lean prepubertal children: a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the effect of nutritional supplementation on height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) in short and lean prepubertal children.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of nutritional supplementation at the endocrinology department of a tertiary pediatric medical center of healthy, lean, short, prepubertal children 3-9-years-old. Anthropometry measurements were measured at 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred participants (149 boys) entered the study and 171 (85.5%) completed the intervention period. Baseline characteristics including age, sex, height-SDS, weight-SDS, BMI-SDS, and dietary caloric and protein intakes were similar in the formula and placebo groups. 'Good' consumers (intake of ≥50% of the recommended dose) in the formula group significantly improved height-SDS (P < .001) and weight-SDS (P = .005) with no change in BMI-SDS compared with 'poor' consumers and the placebo group. In the formula-treated group a positive correlation was found between the amount of formula consumed per body weight and the gain in height-SDS (r = 0.44, P < .001) and weight-SDS (r = 0.35, P = .002); no significant correlations were found in the placebo group. No serious adverse events were reported during the study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Nutritional intervention with the formula was found to be a feasible, effective, and safe approach for promoting the physical growth of short and lean prepubertal children.
authors.affiliation: The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Yael
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lebenthal
authors.affiliation: The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yackobovitch-Gavan
authors.affiliation: The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Liora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lazar
authors.affiliation: The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Shlomit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shalitin
authors.affiliation: The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Ariel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tenenbaum
authors.affiliation: Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Institute for Gastroenterology, Nutrition, and Liver Diseases, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel.
authors.forename: Raanan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shamir
authors.affiliation: The Jesse Z and Sara Lea Shafer Institute for Endocrinology and Diabetes, National Center for Childhood Diabetes, Schneider Children's Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel; Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel. Electronic address: mosheph@post.tau.ac.il.
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Phillip
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height / Q000187:drug effects; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies