Preterm Infants on Early Solid Foods

Introduction: Preterm infants with a birth weight less than 1500 grams have special nutritional needs in comparison to full-term neonates. During their stay in the neonatal intensive care unit an increased supply with energy, protein and electrolytes is necessary to establish adequate growth. After discharge from the hospital special breast milk supplements or post discharge formulas are available to cover the special nutrient requirements. Complementary feeding in preterm infants is an unexplored field so far and nutritional concepts for the first year of life are not available. Data concerning the optimal time for starting solid foods are missing as well as information concerning the ideal composition of complementary food. In this context it is essential to meet the special nutritional needs of "Ex-Preemies" on the one hand and avoid overfeeding and later obesity on the other hand. So far it remains unclear, what the "safe" time point for introduction of solid food to premature infants is and whether this time point influences growth, body composition, neurodevelopmental outcome or the incidence of atopic disease.

Inclusion Criteria: * Preterm infants \