Baltimore, MD--A new clinical trial fromMcGill University, presented at Nutrition 2019,held at the Baltimore Convention Center in June, looked at the impact of vitamin D supplementation on infant growth. As the researchers explain in the study abstract, vitamin D status is positively associated with lean mass phenotype in healthy infants born with sufficient vitamin D stores. In this study, researchers tested whether rapid correction of low neonatal vitamin D status would improve body composition (lean mass and fat mass) at six months of age.

In the study, infants with serum 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L (n=87) were randomized to receive 400 or 1,000 IU/d until 6 months of age. Those with 25(OH)D ≥50 nmol/L (n=31) were recruited as a reference group, and received 400 IU/d.

The result: Newborns with low vitamin D stores who were given 1,000 IU/day of vitamin D supplementation built up their D stores more rapidly and gained more lean body mass by six months of age compared to infants given 400 IU/day, which is the current standard of care for children as recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics.