Concerns about the increasing rates of obesity in developing countries have led many policy makers to question the impacts of maternal and early child nutrition on risk of later obesity. The purposes of the review are to summarise the studies on the associations between nutrition during pregnancy and infant feeding practices with later obesity from childhood through adulthood and to identify potential ways for preventing obesity in developing countries. As few studies were identified in developing countries, key studies in developed countries were included in the review.Poor prenatal dietary intakes of energy, protein and micronutrients were shown to be associated with increased risk of adult obesity in offspring. Female offspring seem to be more vulnerable than male offspring when their mothers receive insufficient energy during pregnancy.By influencing birthweight, optimal prenatal nutrition might reduce the risk of obesity in adults. While normal birthweights (2500-3999 g) were associated with higher body mass index (BMI) as adults, they generally were associated with higher fat-free mass and lower fat mass compared with low birthweights (<2500 g). Low birthweight was associated with higher risk of metabolic syndrome and central obesity in adults.Breastfeeding and timely introduction of complementary foods were shown to protect against obesity later in life in observational studies. High-protein intake during early childhood however was associated with higher body fat mass and obesity in adulthood.In developed countries, increased weight gain during the first 2 years of life was associated with a higher BMI in adulthood. However, recent studies in developing countries showed that higher BMI was more related to greater lean body mass than fat mass. It appears that increased length at 2 years of age was positively associated with height, weight and fat-free mass, and was only weakly associated with fat mass.The protective associations between breastfeeding and obesity may differ in developing countries compared to developed countries because many studies in developed countries used formula feeding as a control. Future research on the relationship between breastfeeding, timely introduction of complementary feeding or rapid weight gain and obesity are warranted in developing countries.The focus of interventions to reduce risk of obesity in later life in developing countries could include:1. improving maternal nutritional status during pregnancy to reduce low birthweight; 2. enhancing breastfeeding (including durations of exclusive and total breastfeeding); 3. timely introduction of high-quality complementary foods (containing micronutrients and essential fats) but not excessive in protein; 4. further evidence is needed to understand the extent of weight gain and length gain during early childhood are related to body composition in later life.

Background: Few studies have used nationally representative data to describe dietary trends and the related cardiometabolic mortality burden in China. Thus, we aimed to characterize the trends in disease-related dietary factors as well as their associated disease burden among Chinese adults from 1982 to 2012.

We reviewed the efficacy and effectiveness of home fortification of complementary foods with micronutrient powders (e.g. Sprinkles®), crushable tablets and lipid-based or soy-based products. Sixteen studies (5 anaemia treatment trials, 11 prevention trials) met the inclusion criteria. The treatment trials indicate that Sprinkles were as effective as iron drops, and were better accepted and had fewer side effects. In the prevention trials, the risk of anaemia was cut in half. The effect of home fortification with multiple micronutrients on plasma zinc and vitamin A levels was mixed. The impact on child growth of home fortification using only micronutrients was not significant. However, with products containing both micronutrients and a small amount of energy (including fat and protein), the pooled data from two efficacy trials in Africa suggest an effect size of~0.4 for both weight and height. Home fortification with products that include some energy also showed positive effects on indices of child development in two studies. There was a beneficial impact of home fortification on morbidity in high-risk populations in some studies, but most showed no significant impact. Acceptability of home fortification by caregivers and young children is high, and side effects are rare. The safety of home fortification using 'bolus' doses of iron, particularly in malarial areas, needs further investigation. In one study of Sprinkles in a low-income country, the estimates of cost per disability-adjusted life year regained compared favourably with other approaches, but more data on operational and cost considerations for the various home fortification products are needed.

Among fully breastfed infants with a birth weight >2500 g, IDA is uncommon before 6 mo, but male infants and those with a birth weight of 2500-2999 g are at higher risk of ID and IDA.