Body Composition Assessment in Children Born Small for Gestational Age and Its Correlation with Early Nutrition Type: Observational Study

Small for gestational age (SGA) refers to an infant born at term with a birth weight less than the 10th percentile. Several studies associate this condition with an increased risk of developing endocrine-metabolic diseases later in life either childhood and adulthood. The aim of this study was to assess body composition in children born SGA depending of the type of nourishment followed in early life. Herein we evaluated Breast-Fed (which include one or two milk integration with formula during the day), Exclusive Breast-Fed and Formula-fed as three types of nutrition in early life, highlighting differences in body composition. The obtained results revealed that female have a tendency to have the worst physical condition depending on the early nutrition followed. This result could mean that growth hormone (GH) has very different action or sensitivity in male and female