when a baby (under 17 mos.) is a little chunky, eveyone including the parents think it's so wonderful and grand, and the cutest thing, and they are most assuredly healthy as an ox. Yet, when this same child is still fat at age 4 or 5, it's then not attractive anymore and the parents are worried and seeking nutritional/medical advice?
2006-09-17 06:49:09 · 6 answers · asked by Goddess of Nuts PBUH 4 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
Politically correct
2006-09-17 09:36:18 · update #1
its not healthy whatever the age. they think that a baby looks better, that doesnt mean hes healthier. my kis was never chunky. even as a new born.
2006-09-17 06:58:32 · answer #1 · answered by aj 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
well, my son was 9 pounds 2 oz when he was born and he was a "chunky"(but healthy) baby and when he got like 3 or 4 he got taller and started to thin out alot. His pants would fall off of him (ha). Anyway, what I'm trying to say is maybe people are getting concerned for the child's health because what they thought was just baby fat may not be just that. Give the child time and make sure he/she is as active as possible. If your doctor says the kid is still healthy then your doing good. Good luck
2006-09-17 13:57:46 · answer #2 · answered by tawny 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Very true, that's America today. Feeding children to make them "chunky" as a infant/toddler is a great thing. A chocolate cake smeared all over a child's face (for their first birthday) is "cute". Yet, a child who prefers candy when their five over carrot sticks is shocking! Gee...wonder why?
I value and appreciate your opinions too...even if I don't agree you all the time.
This might be a silly question but what does PC mean?
2006-09-17 14:08:41 · answer #3 · answered by .vato. 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because, it's true. under 2 yrs. those babies are not eating pizza and hamburgers. they're getting chubby cheeked on cereals and well fortified formulas and infant foods. they are digestible foods and are not clogging to their arteries...
2006-09-17 13:57:29 · answer #4 · answered by lee f 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
because little babys have a lot of growing to do
older kids should be looking normal by that time
2006-09-17 13:50:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
This was in our local paper recently - remember I didn't write it, only copied it from their website so you can ignore the breastfeeding recommendation.
My son is a skinny-butt kid who was breastfed but by nephew is too and he was formula fed. I really do believe it is about the eating habits that are formed as a toddler...
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Who you calling fat? Child obesity epidemic well known, but what about those adorable bigger babies?
By Marjorie Sherman
Salem News
View as a multiple pages
Three-year-old Tayah Gourley took a bite of a chicken McNugget and coyly dipped her head to the side, considering her father's question.
What is her favorite restaurant for lunch, her dad wanted to know. McDonald's? Burger King? Chuck E. Cheese's?
"I yike everything," she said with a smile while sitting in a booth at McDonald's near The Loop in Methuen.
Curling her knees up to her chest, she gave her 11-month-old brother, Brady, McNugget in hand, a sideways glance.
In an America battling an obesity epidemic, Tayah's dad, Scott Gourley, 36, of Methuen limits fast food in his household to one day a week. Soda is forbidden.
Yet despite their best intentions, Gourley and his wife, Amy, have two children who were big babies at birth.
Brady weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces, high enough to warrant the medical team at Caritas Holy Family Hospital to test his blood sugar levels. Tayah weighed a 8 pounds 13 ounces.
The Gourley children's length caught up with their weight early on, and today their sizes are average, perhaps even a bit underweight. But many other babies who start off heavier continue to fall in the higher weight percentiles into childhood, putting them at risk for weight and health problems in the future.
A Harvard study this summer found that the obesity epidemic in America spares no age group, even the youngest babies.
"We're seeing overweight not only in the toddler and preschool set, but also in infants," said Dr. Matthew Gillman, senior author of the study and associate professor of Ambulatory Care and Prevention at Harvard Medical School.
In an article published in the journal Obesity, Gillman found children 6 years old and younger are 59 percent more likely to be overweight than they were in the 1980s. Meanwhile, babies up to 6 months old are 74 percent more likely to be overweight.
The study was considered especially important because very little research has focused on the weight of babies until now.
No one is certain that fat babies will become fat adults, plagued by the risks associated with obesity - diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and even some cancers. Still, Gillman and others say there are already some clues.
"When infants gain weight faster than peers, they appear to be at risk for overweight and higher blood pressure one and two decades later," he said.
Gillman is working on another study that points to signs that overweight children may be at higher risk for asthma.
And problems of excess weight start even before birth, in the womb.
Dr. Laura Riley at Massachusetts General Hospital has seen the rising tide of chubby babies in the 16 years since she began practicing medicine.
Women start their pregnancy at higher weights today and gain more pounds than they should, Riley said. One recent day, she delivered babies for two mothers whose cumulative weight exceeded 600 pounds.
Bigger babies are just one of many potential complications of too much weight gain in pregnancy. Other sometimes serious risks of gaining generally more than 25 to 35 pounds include high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, C-section, neural tube defects and late-term still births.
Recommended weight gain in pregnancy is 25 to 35 pounds for women of average weight, and 10 to 15 pounds for those who are overweight or obese.
"We want patients to understand there are some serious implications," Riley said. "It's not that we want everyone to look like Demi Moore."
Perhaps the latest information on the higher rate of chubby babies and associated risks will capture the attention of patients who ignored their personal health risks before, she said.
"Pregnant women care about their babies," Riley said. "Now we can show you're setting your kids up with problems with obesity."
In North Andover, Michelle Nelken sees evidence of these new moms who want to get back into shape in her Baby Boot Camp program. The women and their newborns meets three mornings a week outside the town library to exercise together.
"They want to get their bodies back," said Nelken, 31, whose son, Jack, is 10 months old.
Stephanie Goudreau, 28, of Salem, N.H., joined the boot camp immediately after she gave birth to her son, Connor, four months ago. She and her friends all are determined to get back into shape, she said.
She read the latest research on overweight children and agrees that too little exercise and too much fast food and TV are factors. However, she said, there are no clear answers as to why babies may be heavier.
Connor was born at 8 pounds 3 ounces and 21 inches long. Now he is in the 86th percentile for length and 93rd for weight.
"He's a big boy," she said, smiling at her dimpled son.
"My doctor told me that he is growing appropriately, and he's definitely not off the charts," she said.
But as time goes on, Goudreau intends to watch his nutrition carefully. She already decided to hold off adding cereal to his diet until he is 6 months old.
"You have to look at what food choices you make as they grow older," she said.
Dr. Edward Bailey, chief of pediatrics at North Shore Children's Hospital, says Goudreau is on the right track.
Pediatricians are seeing obesity in every age group, from babies right through college, said Bailey, a board member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Overfeeding in the first year of life can give people a lifelong trend toward being overweight," he said.
He said it's important to look at all the environmental causes.
"Part of it is a culture that wants babies to eat a lot and feel good about babies gaining weight," he said. "We want the child to finish what's on the plate. We see moms who want to scoop the last little bits out of those baby jars. There's something un-American about saying the baby is full."
Until Americans take a harder look at such attitudes, the problems will not end any time soon, he said.
Dr. Robert Nelken in Andover sees an upward trend in obesity rates in children and teens, but there is little information on overweight in babies, he said.
"With babies, it's a tougher group," he said. "Sometimes babies are fussy, and their parents think they're hungry so they keep feeding them."
SIDEBARS /BOXES FOR FAT BABIES
Childhood obesity rising
The increase in obesity among American children and teens is dramatic, as shown in these tables. Obesity is defined as above 95th percentile on Body Mass Index.
Obese children ages 6 to 12
Years Percent
1999 to 2000 15.3%
1988 to 1994 11%
1976 to 1980 7 %
Rate more than doubled
Obese teens ages 12 to 19
Years Percentage
1999 to 2000 15.5%
1988 to 1994 11%
1976 to 1980 5%
Rate more than tripled
Overweight babies 0 to 6 months
Year percentage
2001 6%
1980 3.5%
Rate nearly doubled; Another 59 percent of babies were at risk of overweight, in 85th to 95th BMI percentile
Sources: Children and teens: American Obesity Association, Centers for Disease Control. Babies zero to 6 months, article by Dr. Matthew Gillman and associates in July issue of journal Obesity. Gillman and associates studied growth records of 120,000 children from middle income families enrolled in Harvard Vanguard health maintenance organization 1980 to 2001.
What is Body Mass Index?
BMI is a measure of weight for height commonly used to assess size and growth patterns. The BMI number is converted into a percentile. BMI percentiles at 95 and above are considered obese or overweight. )
What you can do
Mothers
* Gain no more than 25 to 35 pounds in pregnancy.
r Obese women should gain no more than 10 to 15 pounds during pregnancy.
r Lose all of the baby weight before becoming pregnant again.
r Remember, the days of eating for two are long gone.
r Put on a pedometer and walk 10,000 steps a day
For babies
r Breast feed until 4 to 6 months.
r Do not top off breast feeding with formula.
r Introduce solid food at 4 to 6 months.
For children
r Reduce sugar sweetened beverages
r Keep TV to less than 2 hours a day
r Increase physical activity
r- Avoid fatty food
2006-09-17 14:17:45 · answer #6 · answered by AlongthePemi 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋