Infant Formula Docosahexaenoic Acid and Body Mass Index to Four Years of Age

Abstract

Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is a long-chain fatty acid essential for brain growth and cognitive development in infancy. There is some evidence that DHA can also influence growth in infancy and early childhood. Several clinical trials with infants and young children have found lower normalized growth following DHA increased exposure through maternal supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation or infant formula supplementation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of feeding one of four concentrations of DHA in infant formula on weight-for-length percentile ( or =2 years) at twelve study visits from birth to four years of age. Healthy formula-fed infants were randomized to one of four infant formulas containing 0, 0.32, 0.64, or 0.96% of total fatty acid from DHA. Weight, length, and head circumference were measured at 6 weeks, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2 years, 2.5 years, 3 years, 3.5 years, and 4 years of age. Subjects were normalized to the Center for Disease Control weight-for-length ( or =2 years) by calculating percentiles. The relationship between weight-for-length and BMI-age percentiles across study visits and DHA concentration in the study formula were evaluated with a two way repeated measures ANOVA using a p-value of 0.05 as statistically significant. The concentration of DHA consumed through infant formula during the first year of life did not impact weight-for-length or BMI-age percentile from birth to 4 years of age (P =0.683). When grouped by DHA or no DHA there was no statistical significance (P =0.416). There is no observable difference in weight-for-length or BMI-age in infants supplemented DHA through infant formula in the first four years of life.