Can early nutrition influence health years later?

What if some of the nutritional experiences we have as infants could still be reflected in our health years later?

The first months of life are a period of extraordinary growth and development. During this time, nutrition provides the building blocks needed to support a growing body and developing brain. Increasingly, researchers are looking beyond infancy to understand whether early nutritional exposures may also be associated with outcomes later in childhood.

One piece of research helping to explore this is the MERCURIUS clinical trial and its exploratory follow-up. While the original study was designed to evaluate the nutritional adequacy, safety and growth of an infant formula developed with NUTURIS® lipid droplet architecture, the story did not end there. As the participating children grew older, researchers had a unique opportunity to revisit them through 5 years of age and explore outcomes that could only be assessed later in childhood, including blood pressure and cognitive performance. 

At Danone Research & Innovation, this work forms part of a broader effort to better understand the unique characteristics of human milk and how these insights can inspire advances in infant nutrition. Breast milk is considered the gold standard for infant nutrition and contains lipids that support growth, brain development and immune function. One distinctive feature of breast milk is the way these lipids are naturally organised into large milk fat globules surrounded by a complex membrane structure. Inspired by this natural design, NUTURIS® lipid droplet architecture was developed with larger lipid droplets and a coating rich in milk phospholipids and milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) components, bringing the structure of infant formula lipid droplets closer to that found in human milk.

The original MERCURIUS clinical study followed healthy term infants who received either an infant formula developed with NUTURIS® lipid droplet architecture or a standard infant formula during early life, along with a reference breastfed group. The study was then extended through an exploratory follow-up, creating a unique opportunity to revisit the children years later and investigate outcomes through 5 years of age. 

• Children who received infant formula with NUTURIS® lipid droplet architecture showed growth patterns closer to those observed in breastfed children through 5 years of age

• Lower blood pressure outcomes were observed at 5 years of age compared with children who received the control formula

• Cognitive performance at 5 years of age was closer to that observed in breastfed children.

These findings contribute to a growing body of research exploring how early-life nutrition may influence health beyond infancy. Through research such as this, Danone Research & Innovation continues to investigate how the characteristics of infant nutrition may support healthy growth and long-term development.