title: Appetite-regulating hormones in early life and relationships with type of feeding and body composition in healthy term infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Body composition in early life influences development of obesity during childhood and beyond. Appetite-regulating hormones (ARH) play a role in regulation of food intake and might thus influence body composition in later life. Studies on associations between ARH and body composition in early life are limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 197 healthy term infants, we measured serum fasting levels of ghrelin, leptin, insulin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and peptide YY (PYY) at 3 months and in 41 infants also at 6 months and their associations with type of feeding and longitudinal fat mass percentage (FM%) measured by air displacement plethysmography at 1, 3 and 6 months and abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat, measured by ultrasound, at 3 and 6 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Infants with formula feeding for 3 months had significantly higher serum levels of ghrelin, leptin, insulin, GIP and PP (p = 0.026, p = 0.018, p = 0.002, p < 0.001, resp.) and lower serum levels of PYY (p = 0.002) at 3 months than breastfed infants. Leptin and ghrelin correlated positively with FM% at 3 months and insulin with change in FM% between 1 and 3 months (r = 0.40, p < 0.001, r = 0.23, p < 0.05, r = 0.22, p < 0.01, resp.). Leptin at 3 months correlated with subcutaneous fat at 3 months (r = 0.23, p < 0.001), but not with visceral fat. Other ARH did not correlate with body composition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Formula-fed infants had a different profile of ARH than breastfed infants, suggesting that lower levels of ghrelin, leptin and insulin in breastfed infants contribute to the protective role of breastfeeding against obesity development. Leptin, ghrelin and insulin were associated with fat mass percentage or its changes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Subdivision of Endocrinology, Erasmus Medical Center/Sophia Children's Hospital, Room Number: Sk-0152, Dr. Molenwaterplein 40, 3015 GJ, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. l.breij@erasmusmc.nl.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Breij
authors.affiliation: Section of Pharmacology Vascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Research School COEUR, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Monique T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.affiliation: Section of Pharmacology Vascular and Metabolic Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Research School COEUR, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Leonie C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: van Vark-van der Zee
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Subdivision of Endocrinology, Erasmus Medical Center/Sophia Children's Hospital, Room Number: Sk-0152, Dr. Molenwaterplein 40, 3015 GJ, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Anita C S
authors.initials: ACS
authors.lastname: Hokken-Koelega
mesh_terms: D000886:Anthropometry; D001823:Body Composition; D001942:Breast Feeding; D005260:Female; D005749:Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide / Q000097:blood; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D041943:Infant Formula; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide / Q000097:blood; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000097:blood / Q000517:prevention & control; D019894:Peptide YY / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D054439:Ghrelin; D007328:Insulin; D020738:Leptin; D019894:Peptide YY; D005749:Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide; D010191:Pancreatic Polypeptide
keywords: Appetite-regulating hormones; Body composition; Breastfed; Early life; Formula fed