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Influence of the Composition of Breast Milk on the Risk of Childhood Obesity

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Obesity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 9325

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Prof. Dr. Catalina Picó

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1. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Nutrition and Biotechnology (Group of Nutrigenomics, Biomarkers and Risk Evaluation), University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma, Spain
2. Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands IdISBa, 07010 Palma, Spain
3. CIBER de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), 28029 Madrid, Spain
Interests: metabolic programming; obesity; body weight cotrol; leptin; breast milk; nutrigenomics; biomarkers
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Dr. Catalina Amadora Pomar

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Guest Editor

1. Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Nutrition and Biotechnology (Group of Nutrigenomics, Biomarkers and Risk Evaluation), University of the Balearic Islands, 07122 Palma, Spain
2. Health Research Institute of the Balearic Islands IdISBa, 07010 Palma, Spain
3. CIBER de Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), 28029 Madrid, Spain
Interests: maternal nutrition and breast milk composition; microRNAs in breast milk; metabolic programming

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The prenatal and early postnatal periods have been revealed as critical stages of development where nutritional and other environmental factors may have a profound influence on health. In humans, it has been clearly established that breastfeeding offers optimal nutrition in the immediate postnatal period, resulting in health benefits for both mothers and infants. Significantly, breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the risk of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes, among other conditions.

Breast milk not only contains macronutrients and micronutrients, it also provides a large quantity and variety of bioactive compounds (such as growth factors, hormones, and miRNAs, among others) that may influence infant growth and development. However, breast milk composition is not uniform. It may be affected by environmental and maternal conditions, particularly metabolic status and diet; thus, the beneficial effects of breastfeeding might be influenced by breast milk composition. However, the precise associations and underlying mechanisms are currently poorly understood.

In this Special Issue, we welcome papers focusing on the link between milk composition and childhood obesity. This includes original animal and human research, cohort studies, and systematic reviews/meta-analyses.

Prof. Dr. Catalina Picó
Dr. Catalina Amadora Pomar
Guest Editors

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Keywords

breastfeeding
milk composition
maternal environment
metabolic programming
obesity

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Butyrate in Human Milk: Associations with Milk Microbiota, Milk Intake Volume, and Infant Growth

by Laurentya Olga, Janna A. van Diepen, Maciej Chichlowski, Clive J. Petry, Jacques Vervoort, David B. Dunger, Guus A. M. Kortman, Gabriele Gross and Ken K. Ong

Nutrients 2023, 15(4), 916; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15040916 - 11 Feb 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2884

Abstract

Butyrate in human milk (HM) has been suggested to reduce excessive weight and adipo-sity gains during infancy. However, HM butyrate’s origins, determinants, and its influencing mechanism on weight gain are not completely understood. These were studied in the prospective longitudinal Cambridge Baby Growth and Breastfeeding Study (CBGS-BF), in which infants (n = 59) were exclusively breastfed for at least 6 weeks. Infant growth (birth, 2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months) and HM butyrate concentrations (2 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months) were measured. At age 6 weeks, HM intake volume was measured by deuterium-labelled water technique and HM microbiota by 16S sequencing. Cross-sectionally at 6 weeks, HM butyrate was associated with HM microbiota composition (p = 0.036) although no association with the abundance of typical butyrate producers was detected. In longitudinal analyses across all time points, HM butyrate concentrations were overall negatively associated with infant weight and adiposity, and associations were stronger at younger infant ages. HM butyrate concentration was also inversely correlated with HM intake volume, supporting a possible mechanism whereby butyrate might reduce infant growth via appetite regulation and modulation of HM intake. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Composition of Breast Milk on the Risk of Childhood Obesity)

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16 pages, 5016 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Maternal Metabolic Status and Diet during the Perinatal Period on the Metabolic Programming by Leptin Ingested during the Suckling Period in Rats

by Pedro Castillo, Catalina Amadora Pomar, Andreu Palou, Mariona Palou and Catalina Picó

Nutrients 2023, 15(3), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030570 - 21 Jan 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1809

Abstract

We aimed to analyze the long-term metabolic effects of leptin supplementation at physiological doses during suckling in the offspring of diet-induced obese rats, together with the potential benefits of improving maternal diet during lactation. Thus, the offspring of: dams fed standard-diet (SD) (CON-dams), dams fed western-diet (WD) before and during gestation and lactation (WD-dams), and dams fed as WD-dams but moved to SD during lactation (REV-dams) were supplemented throughout suckling with leptin or vehicle, and fed SD or WD from weaning to four months. Under SD, leptin treatment significantly improved metabolic profile and body fat accumulation, with stronger effects in the male offspring of CON-dams and REV-dams. Under WD, the offspring of WD-dams presented metabolic alterations that were not evident in the offspring of REV-dams. Moreover, leptin supplementation improved glucose homeostasis in the male offspring of REV-dams. Conversely, leptin supplementation in females born to WD-dams and fed WD from weaning resulted in impaired insulin sensitivity and increased hepatic lipid content. These results highlight the importance of a balanced maternal diet during the perinatal period, especially lactation, for the subsequent metabolic health of the offspring and for the beneficial effects of leptin supplementation during suckling, more evident in the male offspring. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Composition of Breast Milk on the Risk of Childhood Obesity)

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13 pages, 984 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nesfatin-1 in Human Milk and Its Association with Infant Anthropometry

by Karina D. Honoré, Signe Bruun, Lotte N. Jacobsen, Magnus Domellöf, Kim F. Michaelsen, Steffen Husby and Gitte Zachariassen

Nutrients 2023, 15(1), 176; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15010176 - 30 Dec 2022

Viewed by 2090

Abstract

Breastfed infants have different growth patterns to formula-fed infants and are less likely to develop obesity later in life. Nesfatin-1 is an anorexigenic adipokine that was discovered in human milk more than a decade ago, and its role in infant appetite regulation is not clear. Our aim was to describe nesfatin-1 levels in human milk collected 3–4 months postpartum, associations with infant anthropometry, and factors (maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (mBMI), high weight gain during pregnancy, milk fat, and energy content) possibly influencing nesfatin-1 levels. We hypothesized that nesfatin-1 levels in mother’s milk would differ for infants that were large (high weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ)) or small (low WAZ) at the time of milk sample collection. We used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect the nesfatin-1 concentration in milk samples from mothers to high WAZ (n = 50) and low WAZ (n = 50) infants. We investigated associations between nesfatin-1 levels and infant anthropometry at 3–4 months of age and growth since birth, using linear regression adjusted for mBMI, birth weight, infant sex, and exclusivity of breastfeeding. We found no difference in nesfatin-1 levels between the two groups and no association with infant anthropometry, even after adjusting for potential confounders. However, high nesfatin-1 levels were correlated with low mBMI. Future research should investigate serum nesfatin-1 level in both mothers, infants and associations with growth in breastfed children. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Composition of Breast Milk on the Risk of Childhood Obesity)

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9 pages, 1752 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Postnatal Leptin Levels Correlate with Breast Milk Leptin Content in Infants Born before 32 Weeks Gestation

by Trassanee Chatmethakul, Mendi L. Schmelzel, Karen J. Johnson, Jacky R. Walker, Donna A. Santillan, Tarah T. Colaizy and Robert D. Roghair

Nutrients 2022, 14(24), 5224; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14245224 - 08 Dec 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2059

Abstract

Perinatal leptin deficiency and reduced intake of mother’s milk may contribute to the development of childhood obesity. Preterm infants have reduced leptin production, and they are at heightened risk of neonatal leptin deficiency. Because fresh human milk contains significantly more leptin than donor milk, we used a cross-over design to determine if blood leptin levels in maternal milk-fed preterm infants fall during conversion to donor human milk. Infants born between 22 0/7 and 31 6/7 weeks gestation on exclusive maternal milk feedings were enrolled into a 21-day cross-over trial. On days 1–7 and 15–21, infants were fed maternal milk, and on days 8–14, infants were fed donor milk. On day 1, study infants had a mean postmenstrual age of 33 weeks. Plasma leptin correlated with milk leptin, and leptin levels in maternal milk far exceed the leptin levels of donor milk. Plasma leptin did not increase during donor milk administration, but it did following resumption of maternal milk (p < 0.05). In this crossover trial, preterm infant blood leptin levels correlated with milk leptin content. This suggests that preterm infants can enterally absorb leptin from human milk, and leptin-rich breast milk may be a targeted therapy for the prevention of obesity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Influence of the Composition of Breast Milk on the Risk of Childhood Obesity)

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