OBJECTIVE To assess the contribution of postnatal factors to failure to thrive in infancy. METHODS 11 900 infants from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), born at 37-41 weeks' gestation, without major malformations and with a complete set of weight measurements in infancy (83% of the original ALSPAC birth cohort) were studied. Conditional weight gain was calculated f...

BACKGROUND It is well accepted that reduced foetal growth and development resulting from maternal malnutrition are associated with a number of chronic conditions in later life. On the other hand such generation-transcending effects of over-nutrition and of high-protein consumption in pregnancy and lactation, a proven fact in all developed societies, are widely unknown. Thus, we intended to desc...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between feeding patterns and HIV-free survival in children born to HIV-infected mothers and to clarify whether antiretroviral (ARV) prophylaxis modifies the association. METHODS From June 2005 to August 2008, HIV-infected pregnant women were counseled regarding infant feeding options, and randomly assigned to triple-ARV prophylaxis (triple ARV) until b...

Background A number of modifiable risk factors are associated with the development of childhood obesity, in particular early feeding behaviour. However, there is little guidance as to how health professionals should assess infants and children “at risk” or what the support or intervention should be Parental beliefs and understanding are crucial determinants of infant feeding behaviour; therefor...

BACKGROUND An increasing number of studies show low diversity of the gut microbiome in those with chronic diseases such as obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, and allergy. Manipulation of the microbiota may promote health. However, the adult microbiota is stable and may be difficult to change. Understanding the fixed and modifiable factors, which determine colonization in early life, may provi...

Newborns are rapidly colonized by microbes and their intestinal tracts contain highly dynamic and rapidly developing microbial communities in the first months of life. In this study, we describe the feasibility of isolating mRNA from rapidly processed faecal samples and applying deep RNA-Seq analysis to provide insight into the active contributors of the microbial community in early life. Speci...

The HIV/AIDS-pandemic causes many problems for the most affected societies and their health care systems. One of these is the 'parent to child transmission' (PTCT) through breastmilk and its prevention (PPTCT). As economic and hygienic conditions do not always assure safe replacement feeding in developing countries, a WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF-expert panel proposed methods to reduce the risk of PTCT bu...

At the population level international growth references have been widely used as useful tools to assess a number of situations, i.e.: to predict local and general emergencies related to food and nutrition; to assess the equity of distribution of economic resources within and between communities; to evaluate the suitability of weaning practices and to screen and following at-risk groups. Neverth...