The piglet can be used to study the effects of parenteral and enteral nutrition on body composition.

Measurement of body composition provides insight into the regulation of normal development as well as the interactions among nutritional, physiological, and biochemical functions. Studies of body composition require an animal model in which body composition at birth and postnatal changes are comparable to those in human infants. Essential to studies of body composition is an animal model that can be fed under various conditions (parenteral and enteral) and can undergo various measurements (whole body and cellular level). The piglet meets these requirements. The postnatal changes in the body composition of infants and piglets are reviewed, and various studies are discussed to show the effect of parenteral and enteral nutrition on piglet body composition. Confirmation of physiological and biochemical similarities in the regulation of body composition in human infants and piglets awaits further study.