Stobaugh HC, Ryan KN, Kennedy JA, Grise JB, Crocker AH, Thakwalakwa C, Litkowski PE, Maleta KM, Manary MJ, Trehan I. Including whey protein and whey permeate in ready-to-use supplementary food improves recovery rates in children with moderate acute malnutrition: a randomized, double-blind clinical trial.
Am J Clin Nutr 2016;
103:926-33. [PMID:
26864368 DOI:
10.3945/ajcn.115.124636]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2015] [Accepted: 12/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
The utility of dairy ingredients in the supplementary foods used in the treatment of childhood moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) remains unsettled.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluated the effectiveness of a peanut-based ready-to-use supplementary food (RUSF) with soy protein compared with a novel RUSF containing dairy ingredients in the form of whey permeate and whey protein concentrate in the treatment of children with MAM.
DESIGN
We conducted a randomized, double-blind clinical effectiveness trial involving rural Malawian and Mozambican children 6-59 mo of age with MAM treated with either soy RUSF or a novel whey RUSF treatment of ~75 kcal · kg(-1) · d(-1) for up to 12 wk.
RESULTS
The proportion of children that recovered from MAM was significantly higher in the group that received whey RUSF (960 of 1144; 83.9%) than in the group that received soy RUSF (874 of 1086; 80.5%; P < 0.04; risk difference 3.4%, 95% CI: 0.3%, 6.6%). Children who consumed whey RUSF also demonstrated better growth markers, with a higher mean midupper arm circumference (MUAC) at the time of discharge (P < 0.009), greater MUAC gain during the course of treatment (P < 0.003), higher mean weight-for-height z score at discharge (P < 0.008), and greater weight gain (P < 0.05). No significant differences were identified in length gain or time to recovery between the 2 groups.
CONCLUSION
This study highlights the importance of milk protein in the treatment of MAM, because the use of a novel whey RUSF resulted in higher recovery rates and improved growth than did soy RUSF, although the whey RUSF supplement provided less total protein and energy than the soy RUSF. This study was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01790048.
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