Jatinder Bhatia Boeken

Protein plays a vital role in growth and development and is able to 'program' healthy growth by influencing gene methylation for positive long-term health outcomes. The understanding of these mechanisms is critical to support and improve the health of future generations in both the short and long term. The first part of this book reviews the role of hydrolyzed proteins in infant feeding and the evidence-based benefits of their use in non-breastfed infants at risk of allergy and in infants with functional gastrointestinal disorders. The second part focuses on human milk and its potential alternatives in the feeding of healthy term infants. The final section is dedicated to preterm infants, their nutrition needs, and physiological capacities to ingest adequate amounts of protein for appropriate growth and development. Presenting the latest scientific findings on protein in early nutrition, this publication provides essential reading for pediatricians and researchers alike.

Growth and nutrition during the fetal period and the first 24 months after birth are important determinants of development in early childhood. Optimal nutrition and health care of both the mother and infant during these first 1000 days of an infant's life are closely linked to growth, learning potential and neurodevelopment, in turn affecting long-term outcomes. Children with low birth weight do not only include premature babies, but also those with intrauterine growth restrictions who consequently have a very high risk of developing metabolic syndrome in the future. Epidemiology, epigenetic programming, the correct nutrition strategy and monitoring of outcomes are thus looked at carefully in this book. More specifically, two important nutritional issues are dealt with in depth: The first being the prevention of low birth weight, starting with the health of adolescent girls, through the pre-pregnancy and pregnancy stages and ending with lactation. The second point of focus concerns the nutritional follow-up and feeding opportunities in relation to dietary requirements of children with low birth weight.