Isotopic evaluation of breast milk intake, energy metabolism, growth and body composition of exclusively breast fed infants in Pakistan

There is considerable evidence to support the view that the current growth standards for infants, which are in-use globally, may be inappropriate. This is based on the observation that these were derived from largely formula-fed western populations and recent studies documenting that exclusively breastfed young infants exhibit a lower growth trajectory. However, there are few studies objectively evaluating energy metabolism, body composition and growth in exclusively breastfed infants, and none in developing countries. We propose to evaluate this longitudinally in an appropriate sample of exclusively breast fed newborn infants in Pakistan. These newborn infants will be well characterized at birth and sequential measurements of breast milk intake and energy expenditure will be made using doubly labeled water, big-impedance analysis and indirect calorimetry. (author)