2009, Volume 15 No. 1

ARTICLE 5

Association Between Fat Content of Breast Milk and Maternal Nutritional Status and Infants’ Weight in Tabriz, Iran

Nikniaz L¹, Mahdavi R¹, Arefhoesseini SR² & Sowti Khiabani, M^3
1 Nutrition Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz-Iran
² School of Public Health & Nutrition, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz-Iran
³ Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz- Iran

ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between breast milk fat content with maternal anthropometric status, energy and macronutrient intake and weight for age Z-score of exclusively breastfed infants. Breast milk samples and information on energy and macronutrients intake (using 24-hour recall method for 3 days) were collected from 182 lactating women. Weight and height of mothers and infants were measured and the body mass index (BMI) and weight for age Z-score (WAZ) were calculated. The fat content of the milk samples was measured by the Gerber method. The mean daily energy intake was 2390 ± 405 kcal which was lower than the recommended values for mothers. The mean fat content of the milk samples was 3.52 ± 1.41 g/dl, which was significantly associated with dietary carbohydrate consumption (β= 0.39, P<0.004) and BMI (β= 0.28, P<0.02). A significant association between the WAZ of infants and maternal BMI (β= 0.36, P<0.001) was recorded. The WAZ of infants whose mothers’ breast milk lipid content was more than 3 g/dl was significantly higher than those whose mothers had lower breast milk lipid content (P<0.031). Further studies need to be done on the effect of fat content of breast milk on infant’s weight and how maternal factors regulate the composition of breast milk.


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