Early nutrition and growth have been found to be important early exposures for later development. Studies of crude growth in terms of weight and length/height, however, cannot elucidate how body composition (BC) might mediate associations between nutrition and later development. In this study, we aimed to examine the relation between fat mass (FM) or fat-free mass (FFM) tissues at birth and their accretion during early infancy, and later developmental progression. In a birth cohort from Ethiopia, 455 children who have BC measurement at birth and 416 who have standardised rate of BC growth during infancy were followed up for outcome variable, and were included in the statistical analysis. The study sample was restricted to mothers living in Jimma town who gave birth to a term baby with a birth weight ≥1500 g and no evident congenital anomalies. The relationship between the exposure and outcome variables was examined using linear-mixed regression model. The finding revealed that FFM at birth was positively associated with global developmental progression from 1 to 5 years (β=1·75; 95 % CI 0·11, 3·39) and from 4 to 5 years (β=1·34; 95 % CI 0·23, 2·44) in the adjusted model. Furthermore, the rate of postnatal FFM tissue accretion was positively associated with development at 1 year of age (β=0·50; 95 % CI 0·01, 0·99). Neither fetal nor postnatal FM showed a significant association. In conclusion, fetal, rather than postnatal, FFM tissue accretion was associated with developmental progression. Intervention studies are needed to assess whether nutrition interventions increasing FFM also increase cognitive development.

1. A new method has been devised for the nutritional evaluation of food protein quality. The method is analogous to the classical determination of net protein utilization (NPU). The suggested new criterion, the protein utilization by the liver (LPU), expresses the amount of food nitrogen ‘retained’ in the liver as a percentage of the food nitrogen intake.

2. Five different foods, casein, soya-bean protein isolate, maize gluten, wheat gluten, cottonseed meal alone or with supplements of amino acids, a total of thirteen samples, were tested for LPU and NPU in groups of six rats. The correlation coefficient between values for LPU and NPU for all seventy-eight rats was +0.85 and was highly significant.

The present study is a secondary analysis of the ROLO study, a randomised control trial of a low-glycaemic index (GI) diet in pregnancy to prevent the recurrence of fetal macrosomia. The objectives of the present study were to identify which women are most likely to respond to a low-GI dietary intervention in pregnancy with respect to three outcome measures: birth weight; maternal glucose intolerance; gestational weight gain (GWG). In early pregnancy, 372 women had their mid-upper arm circumference recorded and BMI calculated. Concentrations of glucose, insulin and leptin were measured in early pregnancy and at 28 weeks. At delivery, infant birth weight was recorded and fetal glucose, C-peptide and leptin concentrations were measured in the cord blood. Women who benefited in terms of infant birth weight were shorter, with a lower education level. Those who maintained weight gain within the GWG guidelines were less overweight in both their first and second pregnancies, with no difference being observed in maternal height. Women who at 28 weeks of gestation developed glucose intolerance, despite the low-GI diet, had a higher BMI and higher glucose concentrations in early pregnancy with more insulin resistance. They also had significantly higher-interval pregnancy weight gain. For each analysis, women who responded to the intervention had lower leptin concentrations in early pregnancy than those who did not. These findings suggest that the maternal metabolic environment in early pregnancy is important in determining later risks of excessive weight gain and metabolic disturbance, whereas birth weight is mediated more by genetic factors. It highlights key areas, which warrant further interrogation before future pregnancy intervention studies, in particular, maternal education level and inter-pregnancy weight gain.

The present study compared the nutritional status of schoolchildren from recently settled, ethnic minority tribespeople with those from a Persian village in southern Iran. Height and weight were measured and blood was collected from school children at three time points over 1·5 years. Supplemental Fe was provided to children with low Hb after the first screening. Twenty-one per cent of the children were wasted, 57 % were stunted and 23 % were anaemic. No statistically significant difference in the prevalence of wasting, stunting and anaemia was found between gender or ethnic groups. Children over the age of 12 years had a higher prevalence of wasting than children aged below 12 years. In a sub-sample of forty-one children the average BMI-for-age decreased. Fe supplementation increased Hb levels to normal in most children, but did not increase Fe level in a few children. Dietary deficiency of micronutrients, especially Zn and Fe, probably accounts for the high prevalence of stunting and anaemia in these children. Infection with Helicobacter pylori is another possible explanation for the Fe-deficiency anaemia. Further investigation is in progress to determine the cause(s) of the observed deficiencies.

Fatty acid transport protein 6 (FATP6) is primarily expressed in the heart and seems to be involved in cardiac fatty acid uptake. Therefore, we investigated whether a variation in the 5′-untranslated region of the FATP6 gene is associated with features of the metabolic syndrome and signs of myocardial alteration or heart failure. A total of 755 male participants from a Metabolic Intervention Cohort Kiel were genotyped for the FATP6–7T>A polymorphism (rs2526246) and phenotyped for features of the metabolic syndrome. Participants underwent a glucose tolerance test and the postprandial assessment of metabolic variables after a standardised mixed meal. Left ventricular heart function was evaluated in fifty-four participants. Fasting (P = 0·01) and postprandial (P = 0·02) TAG concentrations were significantly lower in AA homozygotes when compared with wild-type carriers. Homozygosity of allele A was associated with significantly lower postprandial insulin concentrations after a glucose load and significantly lower systolic (P = 0·01) and diastolic (P = 0·01) blood pressure values compared with wild-type carriers. Accordingly, left ventricular heart mass was significantly lower in twenty-seven AA homozygotes in comparison with twenty-seven TT homozygotes, matched for BMI (P = 0·04). In conclusion, the effects of the FATP6 polymorphism on TAG are mediated by affluent dietary fat. The FATP6–7T>A polymorphism may protect from traits of the metabolic syndrome and CVD.

Excessive deposition of Fe in the organs and tissues of Sub-Saharan Africans was first described in South Africa in 1929. Fe overload, or siderosis, was initially attributed to infections and to metallic poisoning (Cu, Sn, Zn), and then to malnutrition. In 1953 it was hypothesized that it was due primarily to excessive Fe intake derived from foods and drinks prepared in Fe vessels. Recently, in 1992 it was advanced that a gene distinct from any HLA-linked locus may also play a role. As to sequelae, in early research on series of hospital patients, the condition was linked to scurvy, osteoporosis, diabetes, cirrhosis, and latterly, to hepatocellular cancer and tuberculosis. Accordingly, many have concluded that Fe overload is responsible for considerable morbidity and mortality, that adventitious Fe intake should be reduced, and that phlebotomy be recommended for those severely affected. However, there are numerous limitations in the evidence. There are also problems in interpretation, since levels of Fe in the serum are affected additionally by a variety of factors: infection, inflammation, certain cancers and alcohol intake. These considerations complicate attempts to assess to what extent the associations described denote causation, and whether Fe overload has significant ramifications for ill in the general African population. While the adverse sequelae of overload may be less of significance than many believe, the precise pathogenicity of the phenomenon will remain uncertain until further investigations, including prospective studies, are undertaken.

Ca homoeostasis is important to human health and tightly controlled by powerful hormonal mechanisms that display ethnic variation. Ethnic variations could occur also in Arctic populations where the traditional Inuit diet is low in Ca and sun exposure is limited. We aimed to assess factors important to parathyroid hormone (PTH) and Ca in serum in Arctic populations. We included Inuit and Caucasians aged 50–69 years living in the capital city in West or in rural East Greenland. Lifestyle factors were assessed by questionnaires. The intake of Inuit diet was assessed from a FFQ. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD2 and 25OHD3) levels were measured in serum as was albumin, Ca and PTH. The participation rate was 95 %, with 101 Caucasians and 434 Inuit. Median serum 25OHD (99·7 % was 25OHD3) in Caucasians/Inuit was 42/64 nmol/l (25, 75 percentiles 25, 54/51, 81) (P<0·001). Total Ca in serum was 2·33/2·29 mmol/l (25, 75 percentiles 2·26, 2·38/2·21, 2·36) (P=0·01) and PTH was 2·7/2·2 pmol/l (25, 75 percentiles 2·2, 4·1/1·7, 2·7) (P<0·001). The 69/97 Caucasians/Inuit with serum 25OHD <50 nmol/l differed in PTH (P=0·001) that rose with lower 25OHD levels in Caucasians, whereas this was not the case in Inuit. Ethnic origin influenced PTH (β=0·27, P<0·001) and Ca (β=0·22, P<0·001) in multivariate linear regression models after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, smoking, alcohol and diet. In conclusion, ethnic origin influenced PTH, PTH response to low vitamin D levels and Ca levels in populations in Greenland. Recommendations are to evaluate mechanisms underlying the ethnic influence on Ca homoeostasis and to assess the impact of transition in dietary habits on Ca homoeostasis and skeletal health in Arctic populations.

1. The objective of the present study was to evaluate effects of in vitro rumen solubility or degradability of dietary protein on net absorption of nitrogenous compounds from portal-drained viscera of beef heifers.

2. Four protein sources, casein, soya-bean meal, maize-gluten meal and blood meal provided about two-thirds of total dietary nitrogen in semi-purified diets given to four beef heifers in a 4 x 4 Latin square design.

3. Although in vitro degradability of dietary N ranged from 842 (casein) to 310 (blood meal) g/kg total dietary N, net absorption of ammonia-N or α-amino-N was not significantly different (P > 0.10) among diets. However, net absorption of NH3-N tended to decrease and net absorption of α-amino-N tended to increase as intake of in vitro undegradable N increased. Net transfer of urea-N from plasma to portal-drained viscera was greater (P < 0.10) when heifers were fed on soya-bean meal than when fed on maize-gluten meal or blood meal.

4. The findings show with all diets that the non-protein-nitrogenous compounds, NH3 and urea, played a substantial role in absorption and transfer of N. Overall, net absorption of NH3-N was 61% of net absorption of α-amino-N, and transfer of urea-N from plasma to portal-drained viscera was 80% ofnet absorption of α-amino-N.

Hepatocytes were isolated from sixteen fasting neonatal pigs and used in two experiments: (1) to determine the effect of various factors on the ability for hepatic oxidation of fatty acids and (2) to clarify the relationship between fatty acid oxidation and glucose synthesis. In Expt 1, newborn pigs were either fasted from birth for 24 h or allowed to suck ad lib. for 3 d followed by a 24 h fast. In the presence of pyruvate, oxidation of octanoate (2 mM) was about 30-fold greater than oleate (1 mM) regardless of age, but glucose synthesis was not enhanced beyond that observed for pyruvate alone. Inclusion of carnitine (1 mM), glucagon (100 nM) or dibutryl cAMP (50 μM) in the incubation media did not stimulate either fatty acid oxidation (octanoate or oleate) or glucose synthesis. Extending the period of fasting to 48 h (Expt 2) failed to enhance the fatty acid oxidative capacity or glucose synthesis rate. Likewise, the redox potential of the giuconeogenic substrate (lactate v. pyruvate) did not influence glucose synthesis regardless of the oxidative capacity exhibited for fatty acids. These data indicate that fatty acid oxidative capacity is not the first limiting factor to full expression of gluconeogenesis in hepatocytes isolated from fasted newborn pigs.

1. The effect of lysine- and threonine-supplemented wheat gluten on cholesterol metabolism was studied using male weanling rats. Animals were fed on cholesterol-free diets containing 100 or 200 g gluten/kg with or without amino acid supplementation, and compared with animals given 50, 100 and 200 g casein/kg diets, for 3 weeks.

2. A hypocholesterolaemic effect observed with the wheat gluten-fed rats, compared with the animals given 100 and 200 g casein/kg diets, was accompanied by increased turnover of cholesterol as expressed by enhanced cholesterol biosynthesis and increased faecal excretion of cholesterol and bile acids. This effect was not abolished by lysine and threonine supplementation.

3. Low levels of blood cholesterol were also observed in the rats fed on the 50 g casein/kg diet. However, a different mechanism, related to impairment of cholesterol transport from the liver, was most likely responsible for the hypocholesterolaemia found in these protein-malnourished animals.

4. The effect on cholesterol metabolism produced by dietary wheat gluten was independent of the low quality of the protein and of its specific deficiency in lysine and threonine.

1. A comparison of human tissue organo-bromine residues has been made from specimens obtained in the UK, West Germany and Holland.

2. These findings, in conjunction with previous animal studies and with the geographical differences in the use of brominated vegetable oils as food additives, suggest that the high bromine levels found in the fat of tissues from UK children are due to the use of these compounds.

Ageing is associated with weight loss and subsequently poor health outcomes. The present study assessed agreement between two field methods, bioelectrical impedance spectroscopy (BIS) and corrected arm muscle area (CAMA) for assessment of body composition against dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), the reference technique. Agreement between two predictive equations estimating skeletal muscle mass (SMM) from BIS against SMM from DXA was also determined. Assessments occurred at baseline < 14 d post-surgery (n 79), and at 6 months (6M; n 75) and 12 months (12M; n 63) in community-living older adults after surgical treatment for hip fracture. The 95 % limits of agreement (LOA) between BIS and DXA, CAMA and DXA and the equations and DXA were assessed using Bland–Altman analyses. Mean bias and LOA for fat-free mass (FFM) between BIS and DXA were: baseline, 0·7 ( − 10·9, 12·4) kg; 6M, − 0·5 ( − 20·7, 19·8) kg; 12M, 0·1 ( − 8·7, 8·9) kg and for SMM between CAMA and DXA were: baseline, 0·3 ( − 11·7, 12·3) kg; 6M, 1·3 ( − 4·5, 7·1) kg; 12M, 0·9 ( − 5·4, 7·2) kg. Equivalent data for predictive equations against DXA were: equation 1: baseline, 15·1 ( − 9·5, 20·6) kg; 6M, 17·1 ( − 12·0, 22·2) kg; 12M, 17·5 ( − 13·0, 22·0) kg; equation 2: baseline, 12·6 ( − 7·3, 19·9) kg; 6M, 14·4 ( − 9·7, 19·1) kg; 12M, 14·8 ( − 10·7, 18·9) kg. Proportional bias (BIS: β = − 0·337, P< 0·001; CAMA: β = − 0·294, P< 0·001) was present at baseline but not at 6M or 12M. Clinicians should be cautious in using these field methods to predict FFM and SMM, particularly in the acute care setting. New predictive equations would be beneficial.

Phase II metabolising enzymes enable the metabolism and excretion of potentially harmful substances in adults, but to date it is unclear whether dietary phytochemicals can induce phase II enzymes differently between adults and infants. We investigated the expression of phase II enzymes in an in vitro model of primary skin fibroblasts at three different developmental stages, 1 month, 2 years and adult, to examine potential differences in age-related phase II enzymes in response to different phytochemicals (5–20 μm) including sulphoraphane, quercetin and catechin. Following phytochemical treatment, a significant increase in mRNA of glutathione S-transferase A1 (GSTA1) and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) was observed, with the most marked increases seen in response to sulphoraphane (3–10-fold for GSTA1, P = 0·001, and 6–35-fold for NQO1, P = 0·001–0·017). Catechin also induced 3–5-fold changes in NQO1 transcription, whereas quercetin had less effect on NQO1 mRNA induction in infant cells. Moreover, NQO1 protein levels were significantly increased in 2-year-old and adult cell models in response to sulphoraphane treatment. These results suggest that metabolic plasticity and response to xenobiotics may be different in infants and adults; and therefore the inclusion of phytochemicals in the infant diet may modulate their induction of phase II metabolism, thereby providing increased protection from potentially harmful xenobiotics in later life.