Developmental effects of short-term supplementary feeding in nutritionally-at-risk Indonesian infants.

This study assessed the developmental effects of supplementary feeding over 90 consecutive days on infants aged 6-20 mo at six tea plantations in West Java, Indonesia. Every day except Sunday, the infants attended day-care centers distributed throughout the plantations. Twenty centers and 113 infants were selected; the infants in 9 centers received a dietary supplement, while the infants in 11 centers served as control subjects. Supplements were given twice a day providing, on average, 10.66 kJ (400 kcal) and 5 g protein/d. Measurements of body growth, dietary intake, and mental and motor development were made on all infants. Supplementary feeding had significant effects on weight gain and on motor development. Changes in caloric intake were independently associated with changes in weight and in motor test scores. The data suggest that the effects of the supplement may not have followed a simple mechanistic relationship from intake to weight change to motor development, but, rather, intake may have affected both growth and development domains simultaneously.