TY - JOUR

T1 - Developing food supplements for moderately malnourished children

T2 - Lessons learned from ready-to-use therapeutic foods

AU - Briend, André

AU - Akomo, Peter

AU - Bahwere, Paluku

AU - De Pee, Saskia

AU - Dibari, Filippo

AU - Golden, Michael H

AU - Manary, Mark

AU - Ryan, Kelsey

N1 - CURIS 2015 NEXS 216

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) are solid foods that were developed by changing the formulation of the existing liquid diet, F-100, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the rapid catch-up phase of the treatment of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The resulting products proved highly effective in promoting weight gain in both severely and moderately wasted children and adults, including those infected with HIV. The formulation of the existing RUTFs, however, has never been optimized to maximize linear growth, vitamin and mineral status, and functional outcomes. The high milk content of RUTFs makes it an expensive product, and using lower quantities of milk seems desirable. However, the formulation of alternative, less expensive but more effective versions of RUTF faces difficult challenges, as there are uncertainties regarding the effect in terms of protein quality, antinutrient content, and flatulence factors that will result from the replacement of current dairy ingredients by less expensive protein-rich ingredients. The formulation of alternative RUTFs will require further research on these aspects, followed by efficacy studies comparing the future RUTFs to the existing formulations.

AB - Ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTFs) are solid foods that were developed by changing the formulation of the existing liquid diet, F-100, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the rapid catch-up phase of the treatment of children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The resulting products proved highly effective in promoting weight gain in both severely and moderately wasted children and adults, including those infected with HIV. The formulation of the existing RUTFs, however, has never been optimized to maximize linear growth, vitamin and mineral status, and functional outcomes. The high milk content of RUTFs makes it an expensive product, and using lower quantities of milk seems desirable. However, the formulation of alternative, less expensive but more effective versions of RUTF faces difficult challenges, as there are uncertainties regarding the effect in terms of protein quality, antinutrient content, and flatulence factors that will result from the replacement of current dairy ingredients by less expensive protein-rich ingredients. The formulation of alternative RUTFs will require further research on these aspects, followed by efficacy studies comparing the future RUTFs to the existing formulations.

U2 - 10.1177/15648265150361S109

DO - 10.1177/15648265150361S109

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 25902615

VL - 36

SP - S53-S58

JO - Food and Nutrition Bulletin

JF - Food and Nutrition Bulletin

SN - 0379-5721

IS - Suppl. 1

ER -