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
. 2024 Dec;13(4):743-754.
doi: 10.1007/s13679-024-00591-y. Epub 2024 Oct 23.

Early Life Energy Balance: The Development of Infant Energy Expenditure and Intake in the Context of Obesity

Emily W Flanagan  1 , Leanne M Redman  2
Affiliations
Review

Early Life Energy Balance: The Development of Infant Energy Expenditure and Intake in the Context of Obesity

Emily W Flanagan et al. Curr Obes Rep. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review aims to provide a summary of the current knowledge on measurement tools and most recent evidence for prenatal and postnatal modulators of energy balance in young infants.

Recent findings: The prevention of pediatric obesity depends upon curating the perfect imbalance of energy intake to energy expenditure, taking into consideration the energy needs for healthy growth. We summarize the recent evidence for the programming of fetal and infant metabolism influenced by maternal preconception health, prenatal metabolic milieu, and physical activity behaviors. In the early postnatal environment, caregiver feeding behaviors shape the extent of energy imbalance through dictating quantity and modality of infant energy intake. There are biological and behavioral contributors to improper infant energy imbalance. Furthermore, caregiver and clinician education on overfeeding and clinical tools to prescribe and monitor infant overgrowth are absent. Ultimately, the lack of high-quality and modern research of infant energy expenditure underpins the lack of advancement in clinical guidelines and the needed prevention of pediatric obesity.

Keywords: Breastfeeding; Brown adipose tissue; Metabolic chamber; Neonatal energy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Energy Imbalance in Infants
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. Obesity and overweight. 2024. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight. Accessed 14 June 2024.
    1. Simmonds M, Llewellyn A, Owen CG, Woolacott N. Predicting adult obesity from childhood obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Obes Rev. 2016;17:95–107. 10.1111/obr.12334. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Butte NF. Fat intake of children in relation to energy requirements. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;72:1246S–1252S. 10.1093/ajcn/72.5.1246s. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ravussin E, Bogardus C. Energy expenditure in the obese: is there a thrifty gene? Infusionstherapie. 1990;17:108–12. 10.1159/000222456. - DOI - PubMed

    1. Roberts SB, Savage J, Coward WA, Chew B, Lucas A. Energy expenditure and intake in infants born to lean and overweight mothers. N Engl J Med. 1988;318:461–6. 10.1056/NEJM198802253180801.

      Infants with low energy expenditure showed higher weight at 3 months of age.

Key References

    1. Davidsson L in Stable Isotope Technique to Assess Intake of Human Milk in Breastfed Infants: IAEA Human Health Series No. 7 (2010).

      Measurment of human milk intake using the Dueterium DTM technique.

LinkOut - more resources