The composition of human milk is dynamic and can vary according to many maternal factors, such as diet and nutritional status. This study investigated the association of maternal nutrition and body composition with human milk composition. All measurements and analyses were done at three time points: during the first (n = 40), third (n = 22), and sixth (n = 15) month of lactation. Human milk was analyzed using the Miris human milk analyzer (HMA), body composition was measured with bioelectrical bioimpedance (BIA) using a Maltron BioScan 920-II, and the assessment of women’s nutrition was based on a three-day dietary record. The correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) did not show a significant statistical relationship between human milk composition and nutrients in women’s diet at three time points. For women in the third month postpartum, we observed moderate to strong significant correlations (r ranged from 0.47 to 0.64) between total protein content in milk and the majority of body composition measures as follows: positive correlations: % fat mass (r = 0.60; p = 0.003), fat-free mass expressed in kg (r = 0.63; p = 0.001), and muscle mass (r = 0.47; p = 0.027); and negative correlation: % total body water (r = −0.60; p = 0.003). The variance in milk fat content was related to the body mass index (BMI), with a significant positive correlation in the first month postpartum (r = 0.33; p = 0.048). These findings suggest that it is not diet, but rather the maternal body composition that may be associated with the nutritional value of human milk.

Background: Human milk is the optimal nutrition for newborns and infants during the first period of their life – from birth to 6-th month. It contains a uniquely quantitative and qualitative balanced nutrients profile. Composition of breast milk is dynamic and may vary according to maternal nutritional status.Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate associations between human milk composition and maternal nutritional status.Material and methods: One-day milk samples were provided by exclusively breastfeeding mothers (n=40) at the first month of lactation. Protein – total and true, fat, carbohydrate, dry matter and energy content were determined using the Human Milk Analyzer by MIRIS. The anthropometric measurements (current body weight, height) were used to calculate current body mass index (BMI). On this basis, we assessed nutritional status of examined population.Results: For the majority of women (75%, n=30) currently BMI value was in range of 18.5-24.9 kg/m2, for the rest of women it was ≥ 25 kg/m2. The median macronutrient composition per 100 ml of mature breast milk was 7.0 g for carbohydrate, 1.1 g for protein, 3.5 g for fat, 11.9 for dry matter and energy content was 66.0 kcal. Maternal body mass index was positively related to lipid, dry matter and energy breast milk content (pConclusions: The majority of examined women in the first month of lactation was in normal state of nutrition. For the rest of women BMI values indicated for overweight. Our results confirm correlation between human milk composition and maternal nutritional status, especially in matters of energy value and fat content in human milk. STRESZCZENIEWprowadzenie: Mleko kobiece jest jedynym optymalnym pokarmem dla noworodków i niemowląt od chwili urodzenia do ukończenia 6 miesiąca życia. Unikalność pokarmu kobiecego wynika z idealnie dobranej ilościowo i jakościowo kompozycji składników. Skład mleka kobiecego jest dynamiczny i może się różnić w zależności od stanu odżywienia kobiety karmiącej.Cel: Celem badania była analiza zależności między składem mleka kobiecego a stanem odżywienia kobiety karmiącej piersią.Materiał i metody: Próbki mleka pochodzące z dobowej zbiórki mleka zostały dostarczone przez 40 zdrowych kobiet karmiących dzieci wyłącznie. Badanie prowadzono w pierwszym miesiącu laktacji. W otrzymanym materiale oznaczono zawartość białka całkowitego i białka odżywczego, tłuszczu, węglowodanów, suchej masy oraz wartość energetyczną, używając analizatora składu mleka (HMA MIRIS). Aktualny wskaźnik masy ciała BMI badanej populacji został wyliczony na podstawie dokonanych pomiarów antropometrycznych (masa i wysokość ciała). Na tej podstawie oceniono stan odżywienia matek karmiących piersią uczestniczących w badaniu.Wyniki: Dla 30 kobiet (75%) BMI mieściło się w zakresie 18.5-24.9 kg/m2, dla pozostałych (25%) przekraczało 25.0 kg/m2. Mediana zawartości makroskładników w mleku kobiecym wynosiła dla białka – 1.1 g/100 ml, dla węglowodanów 7.0 g/100 ml, dla tłuszczu 3.5 g/100 ml, dla suchej masy 11.9 g/100 ml i dla wartości energetycznej 66.0 kcal/100 ml. Wartość wskaźnika BMI dodatnio korelowała z zawartością tłuszczu, suchej masy i wartością energetyczną mleka kobiecego (pWnioski: Większość uczestniczek badania charakteryzowała się prawidłowym stanem odżywienia ocenianym w pierwszym miesiącu po porodzie. U pozostałej części wartości wskaźnika BMI wskazywały na nadmiar masy ciała. Uzyskane wyniki potwierdzają zależność wartości odżywczej mleka kobiecego od stanu odżywienia matki, szczególnie w zakresie wartości energetycznej i zawartości tłuszczu.

Aims. Obesity is accompanied by the formation of oxygen free radicals, whose intensified activity without effective defense mechanisms can lead to oxidative stress and related complications. We evaluated the presence of oxidative stress in obese prepubertal children. Methods. The study included 83 healthy children aged 2–10 years (62 with obesity and 21 nonobese controls). Total oxidant capacity (TOC), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (ox‐LDL), lipid parameters, glucose, and C‐reactive protein (CRP) were measured in serum. Oxidative stress index (OSI) was calculated. Results. Serum TOC concentration was significantly higher (p < 0.05) and TAC concentration was lower (p < 0.05) in obese children. OSI was higher (p < 0.01) in obese subjects compared with controls. CRP levels were normal in all children, but median CRP value was higher (p < 0.01) and HDL cholesterol levels were lower (p < 0.05) in the obese group. We found a significant negative correlation between TAC and ox‐LDL concentrations (r = −0.27, p < 0.05) in obese children. Furthermore, obesity duration was positively correlated with TOC level (r = 0.32, p < 0.05) in this group. Conclusions. Obesity‐related oxidative stress already occurs in prepubescence. Early obesity diagnosis and the necessary therapeutic activity implementation is a vital strategy for the prophylaxis of free radical damage and related multiorgan complications.

Adipokines may influence bone metabolism in children, but this phenomenon is not well understood. Therefore, we studied the relationships between bone markers and adipokines during weight loss in obese children. We determined serum leptin, soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R), adiponectin, BALP (bone alkaline phosphatase), CTX-I (C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen), body composition and bone mineral density (by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry) in 100 obese prepubertal children before and after 3 months of lifestyle intervention (low-energy diet, physical activity). The control group consisted of 70 non-obese children. Obese children had higher BALP activity by about 20% (p<0.001) and similar value of CTX-I compared with non-obese children. After weight loss (-0.96 BMI-SDS mean change), the BALP value in obese patients decreased (p<0.001), whereas CTX-I concentration was unchanged. Changes in BALP were positively correlated with changes in BMI (Body Mass Index) (r=0.352, p<0.001), but not associated with adipokine levels. Trend analysis using SDS-BMI subgroups showed that greater reduction of body mass was associated with a greater decrease of BALP (p=0.035) and leptin values (p<0.001), as well as a greater increase of sOB-R (p<0.003). Obesity during the prepubertal period is associated with an alteration in the adipokines profile and greater whole-body bone mass as a result of increased bone formation rather than reduced bone resorption. Changes in bone metabolism during lifestyle intervention seem to be related to weight loss but not to changes in adipokines. Further studies should elucidate the influence of long-term therapy on bone mass in childhood.

The market of plant-based food, including plant-based beverages, is one of the fastest-growing food sectors within the food industry and a subject of major research in the area of new product development. Plant-based beverages are a diverse group of non-dairy beverages with varying nutritional value, depending on the raw material sources and additional substances used in their production. A wide range of plant beverages makes it possible to choose products tailored to individual consumer preferences and needs as a part of sustainable dietary patterns. Increased consumer awareness of the environmental and health implications of proper nutrition, interest in plant-based diets, climate, and natural resource protection, as well as ethical concerns about animal welfare and the negative environmental impact of animal production, have led some consumers to seek a more balanced diet based on varied plant-based products, including beverages. Considering the highly diversified nutritional value of plant-based beverages, their availability, convenience, accessibility to consumers, ethical and environmental concerns, increasing health concerns as well as growing popularity of plant-based beverages as potential cow-milk alternatives, the Group of Experts in medicine and nutritional sciences presents the opinion on the nutritional value, health benefits and concerns of the available plant-based beverages. The opinion was based on a critical review of the current scientific literature, as well as on the experts’ experience. This knowledge can be used to make the right choices to improve the nutritional status and health of the consumers from different groups. Since the nutritional profiles of plant-based beverages vary across different plant-based drink varieties and they do not have standards of identity, in our opinion, there is a need for action to standardize nutrient fortification regarding the type and amount of added ingredients to ensure the safety of consumers and avoid potential over- or under-fortification of plant-based beverages.

In adults, obesity is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation, which may cause long-term adverse health consequences. We evaluated whether obesity in prepubertal children also generates this kind of inflammation and whether calprotectin and chemerin may be useful markers for early detection of such inflammation in this group of children. The study population included 83 children aged 2 to 10 years; 62 with obesity and without components of metabolic syndrome and 21 healthy controls with normal body weight. White blood cell (WBC) count, concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), calprotectin, and chemerin were determined in peripheral blood. Our study showed that in the group with obesity, serum concentrations of calprotectin and chemerin, as well as CRP were significantly higher as compared with the controls. We found a significant positive correlation between serum chemerin concentrations and BMI z-score (r = 0.33, p < 0.01) in children with obesity. Chemerin concentration was also positively correlated with CRP level (r = 0.36, p < 0.01) in the whole group of children. These findings suggest that obesity may generate chronic low-grade inflammation as early as in the prepubertal period which can be indicated by significantly higher serum concentrations of calprotectin and chemerin. Calprotectin and especially chemerin seem to be promising indicators of this type of inflammation in children with obesity, but the correlation between these markers requires further research.