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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 Dec;61(8):4107-4120.
doi: 10.1007/s00394-022-02936-6. Epub 2022 Jul 13.

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements, with or without added zinc, do not cause excessive fat deposition in Burkinabe children: results from a cluster-randomized community trial

Souheila Abbeddou  1 , Elizabeth Yakes Jimenez  2   3 , Sonja Y Hess  4 , Jérome W Somé  5 , Jean Bosco Ouédraogo  6 , Kenneth H Brown  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements, with or without added zinc, do not cause excessive fat deposition in Burkinabe children: results from a cluster-randomized community trial

Souheila Abbeddou et al. Eur J Nutr. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose: Public health interventions to address stunting and wasting should be evaluated for possibly contributing to obesity risk. The present study tested the hypothesis that small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) might increase fat deposition, and that additional zinc provided via SQ-LNS or in the form of dispersible tablets would increase fat-free mass (FFM) accretion.

Methods: Using a two-stage, cluster-randomized trial design, 34 communities were randomly assigned to the intervention cohort (IC) or non-intervention cohort (NIC), and family compounds within the IC were randomly assigned to receive different amounts of zinc (0, 5 or 10 mg zinc) incorporated in SQ-LNS or 5 mg zinc in the form of dispersible tablets along with treatment for diarrhea, malaria and fever. Body composition was assessed in a subset of IC (n = 201) and NIC (n = 74) children at 9 and 18 months using the deuterium dilution method. A mixed linear model was used to examine average change in FFM and % fat mass (%FM) among intervention groups and by cohort.

Results: Children in the IC had significantly greater change in FFM (Mean (95% Confidence Interval)) (1.57 (1.49, 1.64) kg) compared to the NIC (1.35 (1.23, 1.46) kg; p = 0.005). There were no significant differences in the change in %FM between the NIC and IC or among the intervention groups.

Conclusion: SQ-LNS, along with morbidity treatment increased weight gain and FFM in young children from 9 to 18 months of age without increasing FM deposition. Additional zinc supplementation did not affect changes in FFM or %FM.

Trial registration: The study was registered as a clinical trial with the US National Institute of Health ( www.

Clinicaltrials: gov ; NCT00944281).

Keywords: Body composition; Child; Deuterium dilution technique; Fat mass; Fat-free mass; Small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements; Zinc.

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Conflict of interest statement

KHB, the spouse of SYH, worked for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. None of the other authors have a conflict of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow diagram of participants in the body composition sub-study
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Fat free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) of children at 9 and 18 months of age (a), and by intervention cohort (b, c)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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