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Background and Objectives: Chinese infants consuming four different commercially-available infant formulas were evaluated on gut comfort and stool consistency parameters.Methods and Study Design: Gut comfort characteristics were evaluated during a 7-day cross-sectional observational study in 409 healthy, term, exclusively formula-fed infants via questionnaires and fecal parameters.Results: The stool consistency and color scores were different between the infants consuming one of the four commercially-available infant formulas including different fat sources, i.e. one milk fat-based (IF1), two structured vegetable fat blend-based (IF2 and IF4) and one palm oil-free vegetable fat blend-based (IF3). The scoring pattern showed more 'soft-formed' stools for IF1- consuming infants compared to infants consuming IF2, IF3 or IF4. In addition, a lower amount of green feces was observed in combination with an increase in golden-colored feces for IF1-consuming infants compared to the other groups. Furthermore, IF1-consuming infants reported less fussy/crying time during the night and less gut discomfort. Infants consuming milk fat-based IF1 showed significantly lower fatty acid soaps compared to palmoil free IF3-fed infants.Conclusions: Infants consuming milk fat-based IF1 experienced less gut discomfort compared to infants consuming other commercially-available infant formula. Lower fecal fatty acid soap levels, fussy/crying time during the night and gut discomfort were observed. These findings contribute to the current understanding of the association between lipid structure and gut comfort parameters. However, the suggested benefits noted cannot be fully linked to the effect of fat blend differences since formulas differ in ingredient-sourcing and processing. Future research should confirm the added benefit of milk fat-based infant formulas to improve gut comfort parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South East Asian Nutrition Surveys (SEANUTS) were conducted in 2010/2011 in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in country representative samples totalling 16,744 children aged 0.5 to 12 years. Information on socio-demographic and behavioural variables was collected using questionnaires and anthropometric variables were measured. In a sub-sample of 2016 children, serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D) was determined. Data were analysed using SPSS complex sample with weight factors to report population representative data. Children were categorized as deficient (<25 nmol/L), insufficient (<50 nmol/L), inadequate (<75 nmol/L) or desirable (>=75 nmol/L). In Malaysia and Thailand, urban children had lower 25(OH)D than rural children. In all countries, except Vietnam, boys had higher 25(OH)D levels and older children had lower 25(OH)D. Regional differences after correcting for age, sex and area of residence were seen in all countries. In Thailand and Malaysia, 25(OH)D status was associated with religion. The percentage of children with adequate 25(OH)D (>=75 nmol/L) ranged from as low as 5% (Indonesia) to 20% (Vietnam). Vitamin D insufficiency (<50 nmol/L) was noted in 40 to 50% of children in all countries. Logistic regression showed that girls, urban area, region within the country and religion significantly increased the odds for being vitamin D insufficient. The high prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency in the (sub) tropical SEANUTS countries suggests a need for tailored approach to successfully combat this problem. Promoting active outdoor livestyle with safe sunlight exposure along with food-based strategies to improve vitamin D intake can be feasible options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]