Objective: To investigate the relationship between early nutrient intake and adiposity development.
Design: A follow up study of nutrition and growth carried out in a sample of 112 French children from 10 months to 8 years of age.
Measurements: Nutritional intakes at the age of 2 years and anthropometric measurements: Body Mass Index (BMI), subscapular and triceps skinfolds at the age of 8 years, and age at adiposity rebound assessed on the basis of BMI development.
Results: The BMI at the age of 8 years is positively correlated with energy intake at the age of 2 years, but this correlation becomes non significant after adjustment for BMI at 2 years. Protein (% of energy) intake at the age of 2 years is positively correlated with BMI and subscapular skinfold at 8 years after adjustment for energy intake at 2 years and parental BMI. The percentage of protein at 2 years is negatively associated with age at adiposity rebound, i.e. the higher the protein intake at 2 years, the earlier the adiposity rebound and the higher the subsequent BMI level.
Conclusion: Protein at the age of 2 years is the only nutrient intake associated with fatness development pattern. A high protein intake increases body fatness at 8 years of age, via an early adiposity rebound. The association between protein intake and obesity is consistent with the increased stature and accelerated growth of obese children. A high fat low protein diet (such as human milk) is adapted to high energy demand for growth in early childhood. Our results suggest that high protein diet early in life could increase the risk of obesity and other pathologies later in life.