Effect of nutrition on growth and body composition in infants born preterm

The optimization of the nutritional management of preterm infants has gained importance due to the increased survival of these vulnerable infants. In fact, the achievement of an adequate growth has been associated with a favourable neurodevelopment outcome. Nevertheless, preterm infants still develop severe nutrient deficiencies during the first few weeks of life so that they are frequently growth restricted upon discharge. In addition, preterm infants have been found to show an increased and aberrant adiposity at term-corrected age. The development of strategies immediately after birth has been found to produce excellent results in terms of growth without having any detrimental effect on body composition at term-corrected age. Continuing to monitor growth and body composition changes in relation to different nutrition interventions is essential as growth pattern and body composition appear to have a long term effect on health outcomes. © 2012 Informa UK, Ltd.