[The WHO Child Growth Standards for children under 5 years]. / Verdens helseorganisasjons nye vekststandard for barn under fem år.

BACKGROUND: In 2006, the World Health Organization (WHO) launched the new global WHO Child Growth Standards for children under five years. The rationale for developing this new growth standard was that a review of the NCHS/WHO-reference, which had been recommended for international use since 1978, showed that the growth of breast-fed infants deviated negatively from this reference. Most children included in the NCHS/WHO-reference from 1978 were fed mainly with infant formula. MATERIAL AND METHOD: A growth reference describes HOW: children without a diagnosed disease grow. The WHO Child Growth Standards document how children SHOULD: grow when they are raised in healthy environments, are breastfed and not exposed to tobacco through their mother. The standard was developed on the basis of a multi-ethnic sample with participants from Norway, USA, Brazil, Oman, Ghana and India. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: The WHO Child Growth Standards describe how healthy children grow when key health and environmental needs are met. The new growth standards documents that children with different ethnic backgrounds grow very similarly under equal conditions. The WHO Child Growth Standards are an important tool for prevention and early recognition of overweight, as well as growth faltering and wasting.

[Human milk, immune responses and health effects]. / Morsmelk, immunrespons og helseeffekter.

BACKGROUND: Besides providing optimal nutrition to infants, human milk contains a multitude of immunological components. These components are important for protection against infections and also support the development and maturation of the infant's own immune system. This review focuses on the function of some classical immunocomponents of human milk. Relevant studies are presented that describe health benefits of human milk for the child and of lactation for the mother. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Relevant articles were found mainly by searching PubMed. RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION: Humoral and cellular components of human milk confer protection against infections in the respiratory--, gastrointestinal--and urinary tract. Human milk also protects premature children from neonatal sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis. There is evidence that human milk may confer long-term benefits such as lower risk of certain autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel disease and probably some malignancies. Human milk possibly affects components of the metabolic syndrome. Recent studies demonstrate long-term health benefits of lactation also for the mother. A reduced incidence of breast cancer is best documented. An increasing number of studies indicate protection against ovarian cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and type II diabetes.