Changes in body composition of malnourished children after dietary supplementation as measured by bioelectrical impedance

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Abstract
Body composition was measured with bioelectrical impedance in 35 malnourished children aged 24–59 mo to investigate the effect of a 3-wk feeding supplementation. Twenty children received a high-protein diet with 15% of total energy as protein, whereas 15 children received an isoenergetic standard-protein diet with 7.5% of energy as protein. Bioelectrical impedance analysis and anthropometry were done before and after 21 d of dietary supplementation. The children fed the high-protein diet gained significantly more body weight than those receiving the standard-protein diet (1.33 ± 0.54 vs 0.88 ± 0.47 kg, P < 0.02). The total body water and fat-free mass determined by bioelectrieal impedance analysis showed that the group fed the high-protein diet increased significantly more (0.92 vs 0.58 kg) than those on the standard-protein diet (P < 0.02). Results of this study suggest that feeding a high-protein diet accelerates catchup growth and restores the reference body composition in children recovering from malnutrition.