Abstract
Human milk (HM) appetite hormones and macronutrients may mediate satiety in breastfed infants. This study investigated associations between maternal adiposity and concentrations of HM leptin, adiponectin, protein and lactose, and whether these concentrations and the relationship between body mass index and percentage fat mass (%FM) in a breastfeeding population change over the first year of lactation. Lactating women (n = 59) provided milk samples (n = 283) at the 2nd, 5th, 9th and/or 12th month of lactation. Concentrations of leptin, adiponectin, total protein and lactose were measured. Maternal %FM was measured using bioimpedance spectroscopy. Higher maternal %FM was associated with higher leptin concentrations in both whole (0.006 ± 0.002 ng/mL, p = 0.008) and skim HM (0.005 ± 0.002 ng/mL, p = 0.007), and protein (0.16 ± 0.07 g/L, p = 0.028) concentrations. Adiponectin and lactose concentrations were not associated with %FM (0.01 ± 0.06 ng/mL, p = 0.81; 0.08 ± 0.11 g/L, p = 0.48, respectively). Whole milk concentrations of adiponectin and leptin did not differ significantly over the first year of lactation. These findings suggest that the level of maternal adiposity during lactation may influence the early appetite programming of breastfed infants by modulating concentrations of HM components.
Highlights
Human milk (HM) is the optimal nutrition for term infants as it contains a uniquely balanced profile of macronutrients along with micronutrients, hormones, antibodies, bioactive molecules [1] and cells [2,3], which adequately support the nutritional needs, appropriate growth, immunoprotection and physiological development of the infant [4,5]
While component concentrations differed by the month of lactation within participants for all components, no consistent month of lactation-related patterns were seen for whole milk leptin (p > 0.47), protein (p > 0.37) and lactose (p > 0.26)
While component concentrations differed by the month of lactation within within participants for all components
Summary
Human milk (HM) is the optimal nutrition for term infants as it contains a uniquely balanced profile of macronutrients along with micronutrients, hormones, antibodies, bioactive molecules [1] and cells [2,3], which adequately support the nutritional needs, appropriate growth, immunoprotection and physiological development of the infant [4,5]. Nutrients 2017, 9, 252 the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus [13] These findings indicate that leptin plays a neurotrophic role and contributes to the developmental programming of the hypothalamic appetite circuitry during the neonatal period, preceding leptin’s acute regulation of food intake in adults. Use of BMI as a measure of maternal adiposity may contribute to these conflicting findings. Both increasing [11,35]. This study investigated relationships between maternal adiposity and HM leptin, adiponectin, total protein and lactose. It investigated the relationship between percentage fat mass (%FM). BMI, and the change in maternal adiposity and component concentrations over the first year of lactation
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