Nutritional importance of animal-sourced foods in a healthy diet.

Animal-sourced foods, such as meats, poultry, eggs, milk, and fish are nutrient-dense foods that are rich sources of protein, essential amino acids, and micronutrients that can be challenging to obtain solely through plant-based foods. Animal-sourced protein foods provide crucial nutrients that support the growth and development in children, maintenance of muscle mass and function in adults, gain in muscle mass and strength in exercising individuals, and mitigation of sarcopenia in the elderly. The have identified the important role of animal-sourced foods in the diet at every stage of life.

The Quality of Lunches Brought from Home to School: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis, spanning studies published between 1995 and 2021, investigates various aspects of lunches brought from home (LBFH) to school by children. These meals, in contrast to those provided by the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), lack strict nutritional standards. Despite the availability of NSLP lunches, ∼40% of US children opt for LBFH.

Adverse Metabolic Phenotypes in Parenterally Fed Neonatal Pigs Do Not Persist into Adolescence.

Background: Nutrition during fetal and neonatal life is an important determinant for the risk of adult-onset diseases, especially type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Objectives: We aimed to determine whether total parenteral nutrition (TPN) compared with enteral formula feeding [enteral nutrition (EN)] in term piglets during the first 2 wk after birth would increase the long-term (5-mo) development of metabolic syndrome phenotypes with adverse glucose homeostasis, fatty liver disease, and obesity.

Methods: Neonatal female pigs were administered TPN (n = 12) or fed enterally with a liquid enteral milk-replacer formula (EN, n = 12) for 14 d.

Supplementary Feeding of Moderately Wasted Children in Sierra Leone Reduces Severe Acute Malnutrition and Death When Compared with Nutrition Counseling: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: There is uncertainty about whether children with moderate wasting should receive supplementary feeding.

Objectives: We examined whether supplementary feeding compared with counseling alone in children with moderate wasting prevented progression to severe acute malnutrition (SAM) or death.

Methods: This was a retrospective, dual-cohort study in which 1791 children with moderate wasting were drawn from 2 prior randomized controlled trials that took place in the same location in rural Sierra Leone.

Low linoleic acid foods with added DHA given to Malawian children with severe acute malnutrition improve cognition: a randomized, triple-blinded, controlled clinical trial.

Background: There is concern that the PUFA composition of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is suboptimal for neurocognitive recovery.

Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that RUTF made with reduced amounts of linoleic acid, achieved using high-oleic (HO) peanuts without added DHA (HO-RUTF) or with added DHA (DHA-HO-RUTF), improves cognition when compared with standard RUTF (S-RUTF).

Methods: A triple-blind, randomized, controlled clinical feeding trial was conducted among children with uncomplicated SAM in Malawi with 3 types of RUTF: DHA-HO-RUTF, HO-RUTF, and S-RUTF.

Accuracy and Practical Considerations for Doubly Labeled Water Analysis in Nutrition Studies Using a Laser-Based Isotope Instrument (Off-Axis Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy).

Background: Given the utility of the doubly labeled water (DLW) method for determination of energy expenditure, additional techniques for isotope analysis of the samples are welcome. Laser-based instruments are one such new analytical tool, but their accuracy and feasibility for DLW studies are grossly understudied.

Objectives: We assessed the accuracy of laser-based isotope ratio measurements as part of the DLW method for estimation of carbon dioxide production rate (rCO2) and total energy expenditure (TEE), in between-group comparison study designs.

Variation in AIN-93G/M Diets Across Different Commercial Manufacturers: Not All AIN-93 Diets are Created Equal.

Recognizing the importance of standardized experimental diets, the AIN endorsed the generation of diets for rodents, AIN-93G and -93M, that are composed of purified ingredients and meet the nutrient requirements of rodents at different stages of life. Use of these diets was intended to allow for comparability and reproducibility of studies among laboratories and over time. Although it was anticipated that commercial manufacturers would follow the published formulations precisely, this is not always the case.

Physical activity and fat-free mass during growth and in later life.

Background: Physical activity may be a way to increase and maintain fat-free mass (FFM) in later life, similar to the prevention of fractures by increasing peak bone mass.

Objectives: A study is presented of the association between FFM and physical activity in relation to age.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, FFM was analyzed in relation to physical activity in a large participant group as compiled in the International Atomic Energy Agency Doubly Labeled Water database.

Recommendations for the Use of the Veggie Meter® for Spectroscopy-Based Skin Carotenoid Measurements in the Research Setting.

Carotenoids are a class of phytochemical compounds found in a variety of fruits and vegetables (F/V) and, therefore, are commonly used as a biomarker for F/V intake. The Veggie Meter is a noninvasive research-grade instrument that detects and quantifies carotenoids in the skin. To determine current practices and examine variability among users, a survey was administered to researchers using the device ( = 19, response rate = 35.

Development of Food Pattern Recommendations for Infants and Toddlers 6-24 Months of Age to Support the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.

Background: Developing food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) for infants and toddlers is a complex task that few countries have attempted.

Objectives: Our objectives are to describe the process of food pattern modeling (FPM) conducted to develop FBDGs for the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 for infants 6 to <12 mo and toddlers 12 to <24 mo of age, as well as the implications of the results and areas needing further work.

Methods: The US 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, with the support of federal staff, conducted FPM analyses using 5 steps: 1) identified energy intake targets; 2) established nutritional goals; 3) identified food groupings and expected amounts, using 3 options for the amount of energy from human milk in each age interval; 4) estimated expected nutrient intakes for each scenario, based on nutrient-dense representative foods; and 5) evaluated expected nutrient intakes against nutritional goals.

Intermittent Bolus Compared With Continuous Feeding Enhances Insulin and Amino Acid Signaling to Translation Initiation in Skeletal Muscle of Neonatal Pigs.

Background: Nutrition administered as intermittent bolus feeds rather than continuously promotes greater protein synthesis rates in skeletal muscle and enhances lean growth in a neonatal piglet model. The molecular mechanisms responsible remain unclear.

Objectives: We aimed to identify the insulin- and/or amino acid-signaling components involved in the enhanced stimulation of skeletal muscle by intermittent bolus compared to continuous feeding in neonatal pigs born at term.

Gut microbiota profiles of young South Indian children: Child sex-specific relations with growth.

Gut microbiota has been implicated as a modifier of childhood growth. Here, 16S rRNA sequencing-based fecal microbiota profiles of 18-24 month old Indian children were evaluated (n = 41), in relation to their anthropometric parameters, intestinal permeability, body composition and total energy expenditure. Pathway analyses were conducted to assess microbial functions related to stunting, underweight and wasting.

A Proposed Framework for Identifying Nutrients and Food Components of Public Health Relevance in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Background: Identification of nutrients of public health concern has been a hallmark of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA); however, a formal systematic process for identifying them has not been published.

Objectives: We aimed to propose a framework for identifying "nutrients or food components" (NFCs) of public health relevance to inform the DGA.

Methods: The proposed framework consists of 1) defining terminology; 2) establishing quantitative thresholds to identify NFCs; and 3) examining national data.

Branched-Chain Amino Acid Oxidation Is Elevated in Adults with Morbid Obesity and Decreases Significantly after Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Background: Plasma concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) are elevated in obese individuals with insulin resistance (IR) and decrease after bariatric surgery. However, the metabolic mechanisms are unclear.

Objectives: Our objectives are to compare leucine kinetics between morbidly obese and healthy-weight individuals cross-sectionally, and to prospectively evaluate changes in the morbidly obese after sleeve gastrectomy.

Our Current Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A-Now 20 Years Old.

The DRI values for vitamin A were last reviewed and defined in 2001. At the time, there was very sparse data that could be used to set the DRI values for pregnancy, lactation, and infancy. In the subsequent 20 y since the last formal review, a number of findings relevant to the adequacy indicator of visual dark adaptation in pregnancy, the usual vitamin A content of breast milk across lactation stages, and vitamin A metabolism in women and children have been published.

Can Children Catch up from the Consequences of Undernourishment? Evidence from Child Linear Growth, Developmental Epigenetics, and Brain and Neurocognitive Development.

Recovery from nutritionally induced height deficits continues to garner attention. The current literature on catch-up growth, however, has 2 important limitations: wide-ranging definitions of catch-up growth are used, and it remains unclear whether children can recover from the broader consequences of undernutrition. We addressed these shortcomings by reviewing the literature on the criteria for catch-up in linear growth and on the potential to recover from undernutrition early in life in 3 domains: linear growth, developmental epigenetics, and child brain and neurocognitive development.

Energy Requirement Is Higher During Weight-Loss Maintenance in Adults Consuming a Low- Compared with High-Carbohydrate Diet.

Background: Longer-term feeding studies suggest that a low-carbohydrate diet increases energy expenditure, consistent with the carbohydrate-insulin model of obesity. However, the validity of methodology utilized in these studies, involving doubly labeled water (DLW), has been questioned.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine whether dietary energy requirement for weight-loss maintenance is higher on a low- compared with high-carbohydrate diet.

Fat and fat-free mass index references in children and young adults: assessments along racial and ethnic lines.

Background: Fat-free mass index (FFMI) and fat mass index (FMI) are superior to BMI and fat percentage in evaluating nutritional status. However, existing references fail to account for racial/ethnic differences in body composition among children.

Objectives: Our goal was to produce age-based normative references for FFMI and FMI in children for specific racial/ethnic groups.

The effect of legume supplementation on the gut microbiota in rural Malawian infants aged 6 to 12 months.

Background: Common bean and cowpea contain about 25% protein and 25% fiber, and are recommended as complementary foods in sub-Saharan Africa.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine if a daily legume supplement given to Malawian infants aged 6 to 12 mo alters the 16S configuration of the fecal microbiota as read out by amplicon sequence variants (ASVs).

Methods: This study was conducted within the context of a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial to assess whether cowpea or common bean supplementation reduced intestinal permeability or increased linear growth.

Leucine Supplementation Does Not Restore Diminished Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cell Abundance and Myonuclear Accretion When Protein Intake Is Limiting in Neonatal Pigs.

Background: Rapid growth of skeletal muscle in the neonate requires the coordination of protein deposition and myonuclear accretion. During this developmental stage, muscle protein synthesis is highly sensitive to amino acid supply, especially Leu, but we do not know if this is true for satellite cells, the source of muscle fiber myonuclei.

Objective: We examined whether dietary protein restriction reduces myonuclear accretion in the neonatal pig, and if any reduction in myonuclear accretion is mitigated by restoring Leu intake.

Complementary feeding and developmental milestones: a systematic review.

Background: Systematic reviews were conducted as part of the USDA and the US Department of Health and Human Services Pregnancy and Birth to 24 Months Project to examine the relation between complementary feeding and developmental milestones.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to describe systematic reviews examining the relationship between timing of introduction of complementary foods and beverages (CFB), and the types and amounts of CFB consumed, and developmental milestones.

Methods: The literature was searched using 4 databases (PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, and CINAHL) to identify articles that met predetermined criteria for inclusion.