Biomaterial Database

Energy balance in low birth weight infants fed formula of high or low medium-chain triglyceride content. 1986

R K Whyte, and D Campbell, and R Stanhope, and H S Bayley, and J C Sinclair

We tested the effect on energy balance of the partial substitution of medium-chain for long-chain triglycerides in the diet of growing low birth weight infants. Fifteen infants were studied in a randomized double-blind crossover clinical trial in which each infant was fed each of two formulas, which were of equal gross energy and protein content but differed in fat composition. The high medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) formula contained medium- and long-chain triglycerides in a weight/weight ratio of 46:54; in the low MCT formula the ratio was 4:96. The hypothesis tested was that under conditions of equal gross energy intake the two diets would differ in their digestible and metabolizable energy contents and would produce differences in the infants' rates of energy expenditure and energy storage. Gross energy intakes averaged 562 and 555 kJ/kg/day (134 and 133 kcal/kg/day) with the high and low MCT formulas, respectively. With each diet, coefficients of energy digestibility (0.93) and metabolizability (0.91) were identical; the rates of energy expenditure were 262 (high MCT) and 265 (low MCT) kJ/kg/day (63 kcal/kg/day for both diets), and of energy storage were 246 (high MCT) and 239 (low MCT) kJ/kg/day (59 and 57 kcal/day). These differences were not significant. There were also no significant differences between the two diets in coefficients of nitrogen retention (mean 0.70) or in rate of weight gain (mean 21.5 gm/kg/day). The use of high MCT content in infant formula neither provided a nutritional advantage in energy digestibility or metabolizability nor resulted in an increased rate of energy expenditure or of energy storage.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007225	Infant Food	Food processed and manufactured for the nutritional health of children in their first year of life.	Food, Infant,Foods, Infant,Infant Foods
D007230	Infant, Low Birth Weight	An infant having a birth weight of 2500 gm. (5.5 lb.) or less but INFANT, VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT is available for infants having a birth weight of 1500 grams (3.3 lb.) or less.	Low Birth Weight,Low-Birth-Weight Infant,Birth Weight, Low,Birth Weights, Low,Infant, Low-Birth-Weight,Infants, Low-Birth-Weight,Low Birth Weight Infant,Low Birth Weights,Low-Birth-Weight Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D009584	Nitrogen	An element with the atomic symbol N, atomic number 7, and atomic weight [14.00643; 14.00728]. Nitrogen exists as a diatomic gas and makes up about 78% of the earth's atmosphere by volume. It is a constituent of proteins and nucleic acids and found in all living cells.
D011897	Random Allocation	A process involving chance used in therapeutic trials or other research endeavor for allocating experimental subjects, human or animal, between treatment and control groups, or among treatment groups. It may also apply to experiments on inanimate objects.	Randomization,Allocation, Random
D001835	Body Weight	The mass or quantity of heaviness of an individual. It is expressed by units of pounds or kilograms.	Body Weights,Weight, Body,Weights, Body
D004041	Dietary Fats	Fats present in food, especially in animal products such as meat, meat products, butter, ghee. They are present in lower amounts in nuts, seeds, and avocados.	Fats, Dietary,Dietary Fat,Fat, Dietary
D004311	Double-Blind Method	A method of studying a drug or procedure in which both the subjects and investigators are kept unaware of who is actually getting which specific treatment.	Double-Masked Study,Double-Blind Study,Double-Masked Method,Double Blind Method,Double Blind Study,Double Masked Method,Double Masked Study,Double-Blind Methods,Double-Blind Studies,Double-Masked Methods,Double-Masked Studies,Method, Double-Blind,Method, Double-Masked,Methods, Double-Blind,Methods, Double-Masked,Studies, Double-Blind,Studies, Double-Masked,Study, Double-Blind,Study, Double-Masked
D004734	Energy Metabolism	The chemical reactions involved in the production and utilization of various forms of energy in cells.	Bioenergetics,Energy Expenditure,Bioenergetic,Energy Expenditures,Energy Metabolisms,Expenditure, Energy,Expenditures, Energy,Metabolism, Energy,Metabolisms, Energy
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man