1.
Puberty and observed energy intake: boy, can they eat!
Shomaker, LB, Tanofsky-Kraff, M, Savastano, DM, Kozlosky, M, Columbo, KM, Wolkoff, LE, Zocca, JM, Brady, SM, Yanovski, SZ, Crocker, MK, et al
The American journal of clinical nutrition. 2010;(1):123-9
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Anecdotal reports suggest that adolescent males consume large quantities of food to meet the growth demands of pubertal development. However, limited experimental data exist to support this impression. OBJECTIVE The objective was to measure energy intakes of youth at different pubertal stages. DESIGN Participants were 204 volunteers (50.5% male) aged 8-17 y. Pubertal development was categorized by physical examination into prepuberty (males: testes < 4 mL; females: Tanner breast stage 1), early-mid puberty (males: testes = 4-12 mL; females: Tanner breast stages 2-3), or late puberty (males: testes >12 mL; females: Tanner breast stages 4-5). Energy intake was measured as consumption from a 9835-kcal food array during 2 lunch time meals. RESULTS Males consumed more energy than did females across all pubertal stages (P < 0.001). Intake increased with pubertal development (P < 0.001), but the timing and magnitude of change varied by sex (P = 0.02). Males' unadjusted energy intake was greater in late puberty (mean +/- SE: 1955 +/- 70 kcal) than in prepuberty (1287 +/- 90 kcal) or early-mid puberty (1413 +/- 92 kcal) (P < 0.001). Females' unadjusted energy intake tended to be lower among prepubertal girls (905 +/- 140 kcal) than among females in early-mid puberty (1278 +/- 82 kcal, P = 0.07) or late puberty (1388 +/- 68 kcal, P = 0.01). After adjustment for fat-free mass, fat mass, height, overweight status, race, and meal instruction, the main effect of sex (P < 0.001) remained significant, but the effect of puberty was not significant (P = 0.66). CONCLUSIONS The observed intake patterns are congruent with known sexual dimorphisms for body composition, peak growth velocity, and pubertal development. Consistent with their higher energy requirements, males can consume significantly larger amounts of food than females, especially during later puberty. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00320177.
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Effects of vitamin A, vitamin A plus iron and multiple micronutrient-fortified seasoning powder on preschool children in a suburb of Chongqing, China.
Chen, K, Li, TY, Chen, L, Qu, P, Liu, YX
Journal of nutritional science and vitaminology. 2008;(6):440-7
Abstract
Preschool children in developing countries are likely to have multiple, concurrent micronutrient deficiencies. This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of different combinations of nutritional fortified diet to improve the blood levels of iron, vitamin A and other essential micronutrients in the preschool population of Banan District of Chongqing, China. From December 2005 to June 2006, a total of 226 2-6 y old preschool children were recruited from three nurseries in the area, and they were randomly assigned to three different fortified diet groups for 6 mo. Group I was fortified with vitamin A; groups II and III were fortified with vitamin A plus iron and vitamin A plus iron, thiamine, riboflavin, folic acid, niacinamide, zinc and calcium, respectively. Subjects' weight and height were measured for assessing the children's growth and development. Blood samples were taken at the beginning and the end of the 6-mo study period for measuring serum levels of micronutrients. Group III with the multiple micronutrient fortified diet was the most effective to improve the serum level of retinol from [media (P25, P75): 1.06 (0.89, 1.32)] micromol/L to 1.29 (1.04, 1.39) micromol/L (p<0.05) and retinol binding protein from 17.0 (12.6, 25.6) mg/L to 31.6 (24.4, 44.0) mg/L (p<0.05) and to mobilize the stored iron in the liver (p<0.05). In addition, the three groups' hemoglobin levels were elevated from 117.0 (109.0, 124.1) g/L, 114.0 (109.2, 119.7) g/L and 115.0 (109.5, 122.7) g/L to 125.7 (119.2, 133.1) g/L, 126.5 (122.2, 135.9) g/L and 125.1 (119.8, 131.6) g/L over the 6 mo of intervention period, but there were no difference among the three groups (p>0.05). Nevertheless, unexpected results were obtained when comparing the effects on growth status among the different supplement groups. Our study has demonstrated that a multiple micronutrient fortified diet for 6 mo is more effective to improve the levels of hemoglobin, serum retinol, and RBP as well as to facilitate the mobilization of iron storage in preschool children.
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Effect of succimer on growth of preschool children with moderate blood lead levels.
Peterson, KE, Salganik, M, Campbell, C, Rhoads, GG, Rubin, J, Berger, O, Ware, JH, Rogan, W
Environmental health perspectives. 2004;(2):233-7
Abstract
Growth deficits associated with lead exposure might be ameliorated by chelation. We examined the effect of succimer on growth in 780 children 12-33 months old who had blood lead levels of 20-44 microg/dL and were randomized to receive up to three 26-day courses of succimer or placebo in a multicenter, double-blind trial. The difference in changes in weight and height between succimer and placebo groups at 1-34 months was calculated by fitting cubic splines. The difference in height change in children on succimer compared with placebo was -0.27 cm [95% confidence interval (95% CI), -0.42 to -0.11] from baseline to 9 months, when 99% of children had completed treatment, and -0.43 cm (95% CI, -0.77 to -0.09) during 34 months of follow-up. Similar differences in weight gain were not statistically significant. Although succimer lowers blood lead in moderately lead-poisoned children, it does not have a beneficial effect on growth and may have an adverse effect.