THE REQUIREMENTS OF ENERGY AND PROTEIN AN D THE DIRECTIVES OF THE EUROPEAN-UNION (EU) FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF LIFE

The present recommendations for the energy and protein intake of infan ts are based on a WHO report from 1985. The true energy requirement pe r kg body weight is most likely lower than it was estimated by the WHO on the basis of nutrition surveys. The protein requirement for the fi rst half-year of life is deduced from breast milk intake, for the seco nd half-year of life using the factorial method. During the second hal f-year of life, the actual energy intake is slightly lower whereas the actual protein intake is much higher than the recommendations. This i s due to the fact that important sources for essential nutrients also contain high amounts of protein. In the draft for the EU recommendatio n for beikost, this tendency is emphasized. In this draft, a protein c ontent of 12 energy-% for complete meals corresponding to the mixed di et of adults is demanded. In contrast, the protein content of breast m ilk during the time of the highest protein requirement due to growth i s probably less than 6 % of the energy content. Therefore, it is very unfortunate that the EU draft does not include the low protein, milk-f ree cereal-fruit meal so well-established in German speaking countries . It is also a problem that the product orientated draft for the EU re commendation does not consider the crucial total intake of energy and nutrients per day.