ESPEYB17 15. Editors’ choice (1) (18 abstracts)
15.5. Unintentional error in formula preparation and its simulated impact on infant weight and adiposity
Altazan AD , Gilmore LA , Guo J , Rosenberg DM , Toupo D , Gowins A , Burton JH , Beyl RA , Chow CC , Hall KD & Redman LM
To read the full abstract: Pediatr Obes. 2019 Dec;14(12):e12564. doi: 10.1111/ijpo.12564.
In an experimental setting, the authors asked 53 adults to dispense infant milk formula powder for three servings of 2, 4, 6, and 8 fl oz (57, 113, 170 and 226 grams, respectively) bottles, in random order. Remarkably, only 19% of bottles contained the recommended amount of formula powder. The large majority (78%) of bottles were overdispensed, resulting in 11% additional infant formula powder. Only 3% of bottles were underdispensed.
This study demonstrates the large potential for a fairly simple approach to avoid overfeeding and rapid infant weight gain – accurate dispensing of infant formula powder. The authors modelled that the extra unintentional feeding by 11% above energy requirements over a period of 6 months is sufficient to accelerate an infant’s weight trajectory from the 50th to the 75th percentile.
There is substantial evidence and increasing awareness of the impact of infant overfeeding and excessive weight gain on higher risk for obesity in childhood and later life. An increasing number of interventions are being developed and tested to target overfeeding and rapid weight gain during this early life window. Those interventions employ a range of different strategies, from explicit education and support about these issues, different milk formula protein and energy compositions, to ‘stealth’ interventions that put the emphasis on other outcomes, such as parenting and sleep. It is interesting here that the errors in formula powder dispensing were far from random – 78% of bottles were overdispensed versus only 3% underdispensed. This is consistent with many parents’ inherent tendencies to favour overfeeding their infants and it is an issue that needs to be addressed explicitly.
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ESPE Yearbook of Paediatric Endocrinology
ISSN 1662-4009 (Online)
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