Adult Stature and Protein Intake During Childhood and Adolescence From 3 Years Onward

Abstract

Background Varying protein intake is known to influence human height growth. However, whether a habitually higher protein intake consistently above dietary recommendations during childhood and adolescence impacts on adult stature is not known. Methods We, therefore, examined habitual protein intake based on 3-day weighed dietary records and 24-h urinary biomarker excretions in a longitudinal cohort of 189 healthy individuals between age 3 and 17 years (analyzing 11 diet recordings and 11 24-urine samples per child on average). Urinary urea nitrogen (uN) excretion was used as biomarker for protein intake. Multilinear regressions were applied to examine the prospective associations of average total and average animal protein intake during growth with the outcome adult height (AH) after adjusting for parental heights, energy intake, dietary potential renal acid load (PRAL), and pubertal, early life, and socioeconomic factors. Results Mean standard deviation scores of total (P = .001) and animal (P < .0001) protein intake as well as uN (P = .01) were prospectively and independently related to adult height in girls, but not in boys. Also for girls only, the fully adjusted regression for renal biomarkers (R 2total = 0.79) indicated an inverse relationship between AH and the urinary biomarker for dietary acidity PRAL (P = .06). Conclusion Our prospective, biomarker-confirmed findings on habitual protein intake during the pediatric period provide evidence that protein ingestion above dietary recommendation contributes to an enhanced AH in girls. This enhancement, in turn, may be weakened by an insufficient alkalizing potential through a PRAL-raising fruit- and vegetable-poor nutrition.

Associations between High Protein Intake, Linear Growth, and Stunting in Children and Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Our findings contradict two earlier cross-sectional studies that reported a positive association between dietary protein intake and linear growth [21,22]. Some prospective studies also reported a positive association between protein intake with height [23][24][25][26]. For instance, Catherine S Berkey et al contributed to research on the impact of milk on growth in a cohort of 5101 premenarchal girls from throughout the United States completed annual surveys (1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)2003).…”

“…This was fundamentally different from the protein intake levels in our study. In contrast to our findings, Yifan Hua et al also observed a direct relationship between protein intake and linear length in 189 girls [25]. However, their average protein intake, assessed as a percentage of total energy intake (%E), was between 12.5% and 13.3%.…”

Optimal Protein Intake in Healthy Children and Adolescents: Evaluating Current Evidence

“…It is also important to note the study conducted by Hua et al [ 82 ], in which prospective associations between the habitually higher protein intake of healthy children (3–17 y) and the impact on adult stature were assessed. Results suggest that total and animal protein intakes above dietary recommendations were prospectively, independently, and positively related to adult height only in girls.…”