Dietary Lipids in Infants

Dear Colleagues,

Dietary lipids are the primary source of energy for infants during the first months of life. However, beyond covering caloric demands, lipids provide a wealth of bioactive molecules that modulate growth and development; lipid quality thus impacts long-term health. For healthy infants born at full term, lipids are provided via human milk or formula, whereas in critically ill neonates, including very low birth weight infants, intravenous lipid emulsions may also be needed. The human milk lipidome is diverse and complex, encompassing dozens of lipid classes and hundreds of lipid species with known or unknown functions in infant health. In comparison, intravenous lipid emulsions provide a relatively simple lipid blend, and the optimal lipid composition to promote normal infant development is yet to be determined. Among the prominent examples of lipids with crucial roles in infant maturation are the essential long-chain polyunsaturated (LCPUFA) omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. In addition, recent evidence indicates that dietary lipids such as sphingolipids and specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators can contribute to normal infant development.

The present Special Issue of Nutrients aims to improve our understanding of the composition of infant dietary lipids, lipid bioavailability, infant metabolism of dietary lipids, and impacts of dietary lipids on short- and long-term outcomes.

Dr. Anders Nilsson
Guest Editor

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