Evaluating the effect of cow's milk fortified with albumin powder on malnutrition and anthropometric indices in primary-school children with mild-to-moderate underweight: A randomized double-blinded clinical trial

Background: A proper diet plan is one of the necessary conditions for maintaining the children's health. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of consumption of pasteurized cow's milk fortified with albumin protein in primary-school children, in Yasuj, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this double-blind randomized clinical trial with 12 weeks of duration, 60 children aged 7-13 years, mild to moderate underweight (-1 >= weight-for-age z-score >=-3), were randomly assigned to control and albumin groups. The albumin group and the control group received 200 cc of milk with 10 g of albumin powder and 200 cc of milk with 10 g of cornstarch powder, respectively. At the beginning and end of the study, food intake and anthropometric indices were measured. Results: After 12 weeks of intervention, none of the anthropometric indices (weight, weight-for-age z-score, body mass index (BMI), BMI-for-age z-score, and waist circumference) showed significant changes as compared to baseline in the control group, but weight-for-age z-score and BMI-for-age z-score showed significant increase as compared to baseline in the albumin group (before: -2.25 +/- 0.40, after: -1.98 +/- 0.35, P = 0.001 and before: -3.48 +/- 0.86, after: -3.06 +/- 0.71, P = 0.009, respectively). The comparison of the mean changes between the two groups showed significant difference regarding weight-for-age z-score (control group: -1.70 +/- 0.31 in comparison with albumin group: -1.98 +/- 0.35, P = 0.002), BMI (control group: 12.08 +/- 1.96 in comparison with albumin group: 12.13 +/- 1.49, P = 0.03), and BMI-for-age z-score (control group: -3.11 +/- 0.91 in comparison with albumin group: -3.06 +/- 0.71, P = 0.02). Conclusion: The consumption of albumin powder with milk can improve weight-for-age z-score and BMI-for-age z-score indices in children with mild-to-moderate underweight. Larger controlled interventional studies with longer duration are recommended.