The amount of weight pregnant mothers gain can affect if the baby is overweight as a toddler??

Question

I usually skim through the news headlines everyday and I came across this story today.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070402/ap_on_he_me/diet_pregnancy_weight;_ylt=ApohxKNPkUKIfEyMXSgxIDDMWM0F

(hopefully the link works if not it's about the amount of weight a pregnant mother gains affects weither or not the child will be overweight as a toddler. The study says mothers should gain at the low side of the recommended amount of weight.)

I really feel as a society we over analize everything way to much. How do we know that the kids are just not eating healthy. Personally I gained 60+ pounds with my first child and he is a very healthly 3yr old. Although he has always measured in the 95% for both height and weight he is not overweight. I personally need a lot more proof before I will believe anything this study says. What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

Your hesitation to believe verbatim, a study you read on the Internet is well founded. The vast majority of studies on any subject are done by children who need their name on a paper for school or a resume to find a job.(professors dream up this stuff for their students to do) Just because something shows up on the Internet in black and white surrounded by wonderful graphics and whatever statistics does not mean any of it is factual or unbiased.The same rules apply in other media such as movies and documentaries where anything can be created with computer graphics. There is so much information out there that we need to read six times as much of it to try to weed out the garbage. Journalists and writers don't usually stick with the facts.

Answer 2

I think it has so much more to do with how you feed the baby afterwards. Nothing in the study suggests why the mother gained weight, either. Is it because she went on a food frenzy and is now continuing it with her child? There are too many variables I don't think this study addresses. I gained 30 lbs with my first and she is still normal weight for her height at 6 yrs old.

Answer 3

I gained over 70 lbs with my son and about 60 something with my daughter. They are both always in the 25% for weight. The two I gained that much with, well, my son (8 y/o) is always in the 95% for height and my oldest daughter (4 y/o) is 25% height. I don't think this study is really valid for everyone. However, we instill exercise in our home - walks in the park, exercise tapes/dvds, playing outside, etc.

Answer 4

I am with you, I need more proof for me to believe this. I know I gained 70lbs with my 1st son and about 50lbs with my second and my 1st son is no where near being overweight. He is just very tall for a 1 and half year old and my second son is only 2 month, but he was smaller than his brother so I don't think he will be overweight either.

Answer 5

I agree with you, and I don't put much stock in the surveys and crap that are published. I only gained twenty pounds with my daughter, and at every well-baby check-up, she has been in the upper percentiles for baby girls her age. I'm not worried about it, because I know she is completely normal and I know she eats very well.

Like you, there will have to be a LOT more proof before they can convince me!

Answer 6

That sounds like bunk to me. With my son i went from 120 to 170lbs. Gaining 40lbs totally. My son is 3 1/2 and weighs 34lbs NO WHERE NEAR OVERWEIGHT.


It has more to do with the parents and there genetics.

Answer 7

They have found a link between what pregnant & bf-ing mothers eat, and the tastes of foods children like. So if you eat fried fatty stuff, that may come into play also.

Answer 8

i also gained 60 pounds in my pregnancy my daughter is turning 3 and she has always been in the 70 % for both hight and weaight she is a very healthy girl.

Answer 9

Eat like you are supposed to, or they don't develop right.

The key is to feed them, after they are born, exactly as the doctor says. Don't let grandma give your baby anything not approved by the doctor, regardless if she 'gave it to you, and you were fine'
This is when they get fat, because the body is not ready to digest properly, it all goes to fat.

With my kids, anybody who won't respect that isn't allowed to see them. Period. My daughter is a healthy 5 feet/98 lbs. My triplets are not pudgy, and yet no one is deprived.

Answer 10

nope being over weight has alot to do with genetics and diet... I gained 30 pounds because of fluids with my youngiest son and he is att he normal weight. But its all to do with genetics.