Kim Michaelsen

University of Copenhagen · Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports

Background Protein intake in infancy influences infant growth, body composition, and possibly metabolic programming later in life. Our objectives were to investigate whether macronutrient content in mother's own milk (MOM) differed between exclusive (EBF) or partial breastfeeding (PBF), including an estimation of protein intake (ePI) during the fir...

Purpose of review Diets low in animal-source foods or solely consisting of plant-based foods, hardly meet nutrition needs of children, exposing them to inadequate intake of essential nutrients. Thus, including edible insects in children's diets is relevant for meeting nutritional requirements, other potential health benefits, and building more sust...

Background/objectives Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is an important growth factor in childhood. We aimed to investigate the impact of food supplements for treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) on serum IGF-1 (sIGF-1). Subjects/methods This study was a secondary analysis of a randomized 2×2×3 factorial nutrition trial. Children aged...

(1) Background: Breastfeeding (BF) has been shown to lower the risk of overweight and cardiometabolic disease later in life. However, evidence from low-income settings remains sparse. We examined the associations of BF status at 6 months with anthropometry, body composition (BC), and cardiometabolic markers at 5 years in Ethiopian children. (2) Met...

Background Conditions in utero influence intrauterine and postnatal infant growth and a few studies indicate that maternal inflammation and insulin resistance might affect birth and breastfeeding outcomes. Furthermore, hormones in human milk (HM) may influence infant appetite-regulation and thereby milk intake, but the associations are less underst...

Early dietary long-chain n-3PUFA (n-3LCPUFA) may affect brain development. We investigated if fish oil supplementation of lactating mothers affected socioemotional wellbeing in adolescents in a potentially gender-specific manner. At age 13, we invited 92 children of mothers who completed a randomized trial with 1.5 g/d n-3 LCPUFA or olive oil durin...

Stunting affects 22% children globally, putting them at risk of adverse outcomes including delayed development. We investigated the effect of milk protein (MP) vs. soy and whey permeate (WP) vs. maltodextrin in large-quantity, lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS), and LNS itself vs. no supplementation, on child development and head circumference a...

Background Despite possible benefits for growth, milk is costly to include in foods for undernourished children. Furthermore, the relative effects of different milk components, milk protein (MP), and whey permeate (WP) are unclear. We aimed to assess the effects of MP and WP in lipid-based nutrient supplement (LNS), and of LNS itself, on linear gro...

Background: Early growth and body composition may influence risk of obesity and health in adulthood. Few studies have examined how undernutrition is associated with body composition in early life. Objective: We assessed stunting and wasting as correlates of body composition in young Kenyan children. Methods: Nested in a randomized controlled n...

PurposeLow vitamin D status is a global problem and has been associated with reduced skeletal and cardiometabolic health. However, evidence in young children is lacking. We, therefore, aimed to characterise vitamin D status in toddlers, identify its determinants, and explore if vitamin D status was associated with bone mineralisation and lipid prof...

Breastfed infants have different growth patterns to formula-fed infants and are less likely to develop obesity later in life. Nesfatin-1 is an anorexigenic adipokine that was discovered in human milk more than a decade ago, and its role in infant appetite regulation is not clear. Our aim was to describe nesfatin-1 levels in human milk collected 3–4...

Background Appetite-regulating hormones (ARH) in human milk (HM) are suggested to affect infants’ milk intake and possibly infant growth. Maternal adiposity might contribute to higher levels of ARH in HM, either from the mammary gland or from raised circulating levels due to higher adiposity. Counterfactual-based mediation analysis can define indir...

Background Head circumference is associated with intelligence and tracks from childhood into adulthood. Methods We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis and follow-up of head circumference in a total of 29,192 participants between 6 and 30 months of age. Results Seven loci reached genome-wide significance in the combined discove...

Purpose Wholegrain intake is linked to lower risk of lifestyle diseases, but little is known about its role in growth and metabolic health during the first years of life. We characterized wholegrain and dietary fibre intake in 439 Danish children at 9 and 36 months of age and explored associations with height z-scores (HAZ), body mass index z-score...

Background Among children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) the level of serum cobalamin (SC) and effect of food supplements are unknown. We aimed to assess prevalence and correlates of low SC in children with MAM, associations with hemoglobin and development, and effects of food supplements on SC. Methods and findings A randomized 2 × 2 × 3...

Aim: The effect of different protein sources on the appetite-related hormones in children is largely unknown. We investigated the effect of milk protein versus blends of milk and rapeseed protein on plasma leptin and adiponectin in children. Methods: We included 88 Danish 7-8-year-old children randomized to receive 35g protein/day for 4 weeks in...

Aim: We investigated associations between newborn body composition and anthropometry and body composition at 3 years in Danish children born from obese mothers. Methods: Analyses are based on data from the observational cohort study SKOT II (SKOT; small children's diet and wellbeing (Danish)). Body composition at birth and at 3 years was assesse...

Adequate vitamin B12 and folate concentrations are essential for neural development in early childhood but studies in well-nourished children are lacking. We investigated the relation between plasma vitamin B12 and folate at 9 and 36 months and psychomotor development at 36 months in well-nourished Danish children. Subjects from the SKOT cohorts wi...

Breastfeeding profoundly shapes the infant gut microbiota, which is critical for early life immune development, and the gut microbiota can impact host physiology in various ways, such as through the production of metabolites. However, few breastmilk-dependent microbial metabolites mediating host–microbiota interactions are currently known. Here, we...

Background Linear catch-up growth after treatment of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) is low, and little is known about the association between ponderal and subsequent linear growth. Objective The study assessed the association of weight-for-height z-score (WHZ) gain with subsequent linear growth during SAM treatment and examined its modifiers. Me...

Little valid information is available on human milk nutrient concentrations, especially for micronutrients (MN), and there are no valid Reference Values (RVs) across lactation. In this multi-center collaborative study, RVs will be established for human milk nutrients across the first 8.5 months postpartum. Well-nourished, unsupplemented women in Ba...

Objective: Milk protein may stimulate linear growth through insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). However, the effect of plant proteins on growth factors is largely unknown. This study assesses the effect of combinations of milk and rapeseed protein versus milk protein alone on growth factors in children. Design: An exploratory 3-armed randomized,...

Background Weight gain is routinely monitored to assess hydration and growth during treatment of children with complicated severe acute malnutrition (SAM). However, changes in weight and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) gain velocities over time are scarcely described. We assessed weight and MUAC gain velocities in 6–59 mo-old children with compl...

Breastfeeding protects against diseases, with potential mechanisms driving this being human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and the seeding of milk-associated bacteria in the infant gut. In a cohort of 34 mother–infant dyads we analyzed the microbiota and HMO profiles in breast milk samples and infant’s feces. The microbiota in foremilk and hindmilk s...

Stunting is associated with cognitive impairment and later chronic disease. Previous trials to prevent stunting have had little effect, and no trials seem to have provided larger amounts of energy and high-quality proteins to already stunted children. We aimed to assess the effects of milk protein (MP) and whey permeate (WP) in large-quantity lipid...

Background Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (sIGF-1) is an important growth factor in childhood. However, studies on sIGF-1 among children from low-income countries are few, and the role of body composition is unknown. Objectives To assess the associations of anthropometry, body composition, inflammation, and breastfeeding with sIGF-1 among chil...

PurposeIt is controversial whether a higher intake of n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC PUFA) through breastfeeding is associated or not to a lower blood pressure (BP) during childhood. We aimed to clarify this point by undertaking a meta-analysis involving the data from seven European birth cohorts.Methods We searched https://www....

Maternal obesity may lead to epigenetic alterations in the offspring and might thereby contribute to disease later in life. We investigated whether a lifestyle intervention in pregnant women with obesity is associated with epigenetic variation in cord blood and body composition in the offspring. Genome-wide DNA methylation was analyzed in cord bloo...

Abstract Background Malnutrition continues to be a major cause of mortality and morbidity among children in resource limited settings. Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) experience severe thymus atrophy, possibly reflecting poor immune function. This immune dysfunction is responsible for the severe infections they experience which lead t...

Background Lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) and corn–soy blends (CSBs) with varying soy and milk content are used in treatment of moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). We assessed the impact of these supplements on child development. Methods and findings We conducted a randomised 2 × 2 × 3 factorial trial to assess the effectiveness of 12 weeks...

The genetic background of childhood body mass index (BMI), and the extent to which the well-known associations of childhood BMI with adult diseases are explained by shared genetic factors, are largely unknown. We performed a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of BMI in 61,111 children aged between 2 and 10 years. Twenty-five independent lo...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

High infant weight increases the risk of childhood overweight, while breastfeeding may reduce the risk. However, some infants have a very high weight gain even though they are exclusively breastfed. We examined the risk of a high body mass index (BMI) and overweight in childhood for infants ≥2.5 SD above the median weight‐for‐age (WAZ) at age 5 mon...

Children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) are treated based on low weight-for-length z-score (WLZ), low mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) or both. This study aimed to assess associations of admission criteria and body composition (BC), to improve treatment of MAM. We undertook a cross-sectional study among 6–23 months old Burkinabe children...

Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) affects millions of children, increasing their risk of dying from infections. Thymus atrophy may be a marker of malnutrition-associated immunodeficiency, but factors associated with thymus size in children with MAM are unknown, as is the effect of nutritional interventions on thymus size. Thymus size was measured b...

Background & Aims Change in hydration is common in children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) including during treatment, but is difficult to assess. We investigated the utility of bio-electrical impedance vector analysis (BIVA), a quick non-invasive method, for indexing hydration during treatment. Methods We studied 350 children 0·5-14 years o...

Epidemiological evidence indicates that breastfeeding provides protection against development of overweight/obesity. Nonetheless, a small subgroup of infants undergo excessive weight gain during exclusive breastfeeding, a phenomenon that remains unexplained. Breastmilk contains both gut-seeding microbes and substrates for microbial growth in the gu...

Probiotics are known to stimulate the immune system but the effect on thymus size in late infancy is unknown. We examined the effect of probiotics on thymus size and C-reactive protein (CRP) in healthy Danish infants starting daycare. We further examined associations between thymus size, CRP and recent infections. The study included 186 children ra...

Background: Milk intake stimulates linear growth and improves cognition in children from low-income countries. These effects may be mediated through insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). Objective: The objective was to assess the effect of milk supplement on circulating IGF-1 and to assess IGF-1 as a correlate of growth and cognition in children...

Background: Fetal and early life growth is associated with adult risk of obesity and cardiometabolic disease. However,

Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 2020, 64, 1900977 DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.201900977 In article 1900977 by Ceyda Tugba Pekmez and co‐workers, infants at five months of age with excessive weight gain receive breast milk with lower human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) diversity, lower levels of α‐linolenic acid, oleic acid, and some phospholipid species. The breast milk p...

Cow's milk and dairy products intake increase linear growth in children and result in increased adult stature. This is supported by observational and intervention studies mainly from low- and middle-income countries. However, recent reviews primarily based on studies from well-nourished populations question the relation. The probable effects seem t...

Breastfeeding profoundly shapes the infant gut microbiota, which is critical for early life immune development. However, few breastmilk-dependent microbial metabolites mediating host-microbiota interactions are currently known. We here demonstrate that breastmilk-promoted Bifidobacterium species convert aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalani...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fped.2019.00297.].

Malnutrition impairs cognitive, communication, and motor development, but it is not known how nutrition and health are associated with development in children with moderate acute malnutrition (MAM). We aimed to describe motor and language development of children with MAM and explore its nutrition and health‐related correlates. This cross‐sectional...

Scope: We aimed to identify breastmilk components associated with fecal concentration of SCFAs and to investigate whether they differ between infants with high weight gain (HW) and normal weight gain (NW). Methods and results: Breastmilk and fecal samples were collected from mother-infant dyads with HW (n = 11) and NW (n = 15) at 5 and 9 months...

Most obese children show cardiometabolic impairments, such as insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Yet some obese children retain a normal cardiometabolic profile. The mechanisms underlying this variability remain largely unknown. We examined whether genetic loci associated with increased insulin sensitivity and relatively higher fat...

Aim: The aim was to examine associations between thymus size and anthropometric measurements, sex, age, breastfeeding status, presence of siblings, household pets, and infections and allergies since birth in 8-13-month-old healthy Danish infants. Methods: Data collected from 256 healthy infants enrolled in the ProbiComp study were used. Thymus s...

Background: Mendelian randomization studies in adults suggest that abdominal adiposity is causally associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease in adults, but its causal effect on cardiometabolic risk in children remains unclear. Objective: We aimed to study the causal relation of abdominal adiposity with cardiom...

Background: Both impaired and accelerated postnatal growth have been associated with adult risks of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. However, the timing of the onset of cardiometabolic changes and the specific growth trajectories linking early growth with later disease risks are not well unders...

Background Accelerated growth in early childhood is an established risk factor for later obesity and cardiometabolic disease, but the relative importance of fat mass (FM) and fat-free mass (FFM) accretion is not well understood. We aimed to study how FM and FFM at birth and their accretion during infancy were associated with body composition and ca...

Background: Some infants experience excessive weight gain during exclusive breastfeeding. The cause is unknown, but variation in human milk composition might play a role. Several human milk koligosaccharides (HMOs) have been associated with growth velocity in breastfed infants, and it has been suggested that the mechanism could be through an effect...

Background: Fetal and early life growth is associated with adult risk of obesity and cardiometabolic disease. However, little is known about the relative importance of birth weight and successive periods of weight gain on markers of cardiometabolic risk in childhood in low-income populations. Objectives: The objective was to study associations o...

Introduction: The role of infant fat growth in childhood obesity and adult type 2 diabetes is not clear. We have previously used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify four distinct fat mass (FM) growth patterns in early infancy. Here we examine their associations with adiposity and cardiometabolic outcomes at 5 years (y) of age. Methods: Air Disp...

Objective: Children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) may have impaired intestinal function which can result in malabsorption, diarrhoea and poor growth. This study evaluated the gut function of children with SAM using fecal and blood biomarkers and assessed their correlates. Methods: A cross-sectional study, nested in a randomized trial (htt...

Objective: To assess predictors of diarrhea and dehydration and to investigate the role of diarrhea in mortality among children with complicated severe acute malnutrition. Study design: A prospective cohort study, nested in a probiotic trial, was conducted in children with complicated severe acute malnutrition. Children were treated according to...

Background Allergic diseases are common and represent a considerable health and economic burden worldwide. We aimed to examine the effect of a combination of two probiotic strains administered in late infancy and early childhood on the development of allergic diseases and sensitization. Methods In this double‐blind, placebo‐controlled intervention...

Background: Food aid is a valuable tool for meeting global nutrition goals, particularly for vulnerable populations of children and reproductive-aged women. On October 21, 2017, the Food Aid Quality Review Project hosted a scientific symposium at the 21st International Congress on Nutrition in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to take stock of what the glo...