The effects of two extremes of dietary intake on protein accretion in preterm infants

A comparison has been made of protein accretion and growth in premature infants fed banked drip breast milk (BBM) or a preterm formula (PF). Protein accretion was calculated from the difference between dietary nitrogen intake and output in urine and stools, measured in a nutrient balance study. As expected, only the infants fed PF achieved the intrauterine growth rate. However, whilst weight gain in infants fed BBM was 71% of that in the group fed PF, the rate of protein deposition was less than 50%. As a result, the protein concentration in new tissue of infants fed BBM averaged 32% less than in those fed PF and 21% less than the lower end of the range reported to occur in utero. We speculate that infants fed BBM have an abnormally low protein concentration in their lean body mass.