Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Mar;25(2):93-108.
doi: 10.5223/pghn.2022.25.2.93. Epub 2022 Mar 10.

Burden of Early Life Obesity and Its Relationship with Protein Intake in Infancy: The Middle East Expert Consensus

Frank Jochum  1   2 , Mohamed Abdellatif  3 , Ashraf Adel  4 , Ahmed Alhammadi  4 , Abdulrahman Alnemri  5 , Eman Alohali  6 , Khaled AlSarraf  7 , Khoula Al Said  8 , Mahmoud Elzalabany  9 , Hasan M A Isa  10 , Sridhar Kalyanasundaram  11 , Naguib Abdel Reheim  12 , Omar Saadah  13
Affiliations
Review

Burden of Early Life Obesity and Its Relationship with Protein Intake in Infancy: The Middle East Expert Consensus

Frank Jochum et al. Pediatr Gastroenterol Hepatol Nutr. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Adequate nutrition in early life is proposed to shape a child's future health by launching the growth trajectory in the proper direction, which helps to avoid negative metabolic programming effects. Protein intake during infancy and early childhood is of great importance, as it plays a key role in infant metabolic programming and the future risk of obesity. Breastfeeding provides the best nutrition in early life, with many benefits tailored for the baby, including the appropriate quantity and quality of proteins. Considering the high prevalence of childhood, and subsequent adult, obesity in the region, a virtual Middle East expert consensus meeting was held to discuss an effective approach for managing childhood obesity. Leading pediatric experts from Bahrain, Egypt, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates participated in the meeting. The experts discussed, debated, and agreed on certain directions, including the importance of educating parents, endorsing breastfeeding, and ensuring optimum quantity and quality intake of proteins in early life. This expert consensus may serve as the starting point for healthcare professionals in the region who are interested in shaping a healthy future for the generations to come.

Keywords: Infant formula; Malnutrition; Middle East; Milk, human; Non-communicable diseases; Pediatric obesity; Proteins.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: Frank Jochum has received speakers' honoraria from Nestlé Nutrition and has received research support related to specific research projects from different dairy companies. None of the other authors have a conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Children with obesity have a substantial risk of adult obesity [10].
BMI: body mass index.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Recommended daily protein intake [5253545556575859]. (A) 6-12 months. (B) 12-24 months. (C) 24 months+.
PRI: population reference intake, FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization, WHO: World Health Organization, UNU: United Nations University, HCN: Health Council of the Netherlands, NNR: Nordic Nutrition Recommendations, IoM: U.S. Institute of Medicine, AFSSA: Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (French Food Safety Agency), D-A-CH: Deutschland-Austria-Confoederatio Helvetica, EFSA: European Food Safety Authority.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. The early protein hypothesis [6566].
IGF-1: insulin-like growth factor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. UNICEF. Early childhood development [Internet] New York (NY): UNICEF; [cited 2020 Jun 11]. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/early-childhood-development.
    1. WHO. Levels and trends in child malnutrition [Internet] Geneva: WHO; [cited 2022 Mar 9]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240025257.
    1. Lucas A, Makrides M, Ziegler EE. Importance of growth for health and development. Nestle Nutr Workshop Ser Pediatr Program. 2010;65
    1. WHO. Malnutrition [Internet] Geneva: WHO; 2021. Jun 09, [cited 2020 Jun 11]. Available from: https:// www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malnutrition.
    1. Budreviciute A, Damiati S, Sabir DK, Onder K, Schuller-Goetzburg P, Plakys G, et al. Management and prevention strategies for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors. Front Public Health. 2020;8:574111. - PMC - PubMed