Background

The proportion of late preterm births has markedly increased during the past two decades, accounting for 70 % of preterm births [1]. There is evidence that moni-toring not only the quantity but also the quality of growth, in terms of body composition changes, may play an important role in gaining further insight into the rela-tionship between birth weight and time in utero on early growth pattern and future health [2]. To our knowledge, data regarding the early dynamic features of growth and body composition changes of late preterm infants are scarce [3-5]. The aim of this study was to compare growth and body composition of late preterm infants to that of very preterm and full term infants. Materials and methods Observational longitudinal study. Forty-nine late preterm infants and 63 adequate for gestational age very preterm infants were included in the study. Forty healthy, full-term, breast-fed infants were enrolled as a reference group. Anthropometric parameters and body composition by an air displacement plethysmography system were assessed at term, at 1 and 3 months of corrected age in all groups