Abstract
We evaluated the daily intake of energy, protein, and micronutrients in exclusively formula-fed infants at 1/2-6 months of age. In 2006-2007, we researched the growth and volume of formula intake in 33,642 infants until 6 months of age by a cross-sectional survey in Japan. The daily nutritional intakes were assessed in 578 exclusively formula-fed infants. The average volume of formula intake was 819, 834, 869, 864, 869 and 928 mL per day at 1/2-1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 and 5-6 months of age, respectively. The average energy intake per body weight (128 and 84 kcal/kg/day at 1-2 and 5-6 months of age respectively) was comparable to the estimated energy requirements set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The daily intake of protein and micronutrients except biotin, selenium, and iodine at each age exceeded “the adequate intake” for each nutrient indicated in the Japanese Dietary Reference Intakes (JDRIs). The daily intake of vitamin A and vitamin D at each age was less than “tolerable upper intake level” indicated in the JDRIs, respectively. In the previous report, we showed that growth of the formula-fed infants was comparable to that of breast-fed infants until 6 months of age. In conclusion, the present study has demonstrated that the formula-fed infants take adequate energy to the estimated energy requirements, and that the daily intake of each nutrient from the infant formula is adequate to JDRIs, except for biotin, selenium, and iodine.
