title: Regulation of early human growth: impact on long-term health.
abstract: Growth and development are central characteristics of childhood. Deviations from normal growth can indicate serious health challenges. The adverse impact of early growth faltering and malnutrition on later health has long been known. In contrast, the impact of rapid early weight and body fat gain on programming of later disease risk have only recently received increased attention. Numerous observational studies related diet in early childhood and rapid early growth to the risk of later obesity and associated disorders. Causality was confirmed in a large, double-blind randomised trial testing the 'Early Protein Hypothesis'. In this trial we found that attenuation of protein supply in infancy normalized early growth and markedly reduced obesity prevalence in early school age. These results indicate the need to describe and analyse growth patterns and their regulation through diet in more detail and to characterize the underlying metabolic and epigenetic mechanisms, given the potential major relevance for public health and policy. Better understanding of growth patterns and their regulation could have major benefits for the promotion of public health, consumer-orientated nutrition recommendations, and the development of improved food products for specific target populations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine, Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Berthold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Koletzko
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chourdakis
authors.forename: Veit
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Grote
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hellmuth
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Prell
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rzehak
authors.forename: Olaf
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Uhl
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D001835:Body Weight; D001942:Breast Feeding; D004032:Diet; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula / Q000737:chemistry; D007227:Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D009752:Nutritional Status; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015995:Prevalence; D011634:Public Health; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins