Fat Absorption Studies in Children. I Influence of Heat Treatment on Milk on Fat Retention by Premature Infants

Summary A total of 98 fat balance studies varying from 3 to 7 days duration was made on 32 premature infants weighing at the beginning of the studies from 960 to 2 220 g. The fat content of diet varied from 2.6 to 7.8 g/kg/day and was supplied from breast milk, raw, frozen or heated at various temperatures for different intervals of time or from cow's milk, pasteurized, or subjected to heating at various temperatures for different periods. It is concluded that prematures retain breast milk fat to a remarkably high degree even though the breast milk has been frozen or subjected to various heat treatments. Premature infants do not retain fat from cow's milk as efficiently as they do human milk fat. The nature of the heat treatment of cow's milk did not influence the degree of retention.