["Follow-up milk": general principles and evaluation of the nutritional status of 100 subjects fed a liquid transitional formula].

Many authors have pointed that precocious weaning expose infants to serious risks as hypernutrition, obesity, adverse reactions to foods, hypernatremia, dental caries, emotional problems as anorexia or bulimia, so that actually weaning is delayed after 6th month of age. Going on with the "adapted" formula is a relative nonsense because "adapted" milks have low protein and calcium contents so that they are not adequate to cover estimated and advisable intakes of 4-6 month baby unless feeding unusual higher volumes. On the other side "fresh milk" can not be considered a nutritional "chance", owing its low values of EFA, iron, vitamins, getting worse when fresh milk is diluted. So, recently was born a new milk formula "the follow up milk", on covering nutritional requirement for infants after 4 months of age. Someone is still critical about a follow up milk, also if ESPGAN in 1981 has confirmed its value in the infant feeding. Our work dealed on physical and biochemical nutritional assessment of 100 infants fed a new "liquid follow up formula" (Transilat). Nutritional assessment was performed with the following parameters: daily changes in weight according Fomon standards, plasmatic iron, cholesterol, transferrin, calcium, total proteins, hemoglobin concentration; all data are related to literature values for age. Results show that infants fed (Transilat) are growing well; nutritional data from biochemical point of view discovered any form of minimal or sporadic malnutrition. The follow up milk is a good nutritional "chance" after 4th month of age, instead of fresh cow milk; some infant with clinical problem needing a delayed introduction of cow milk can benefit of follow up milk also in older ages.