If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Baby fat not so harmless: Overweight infants lead to obese adults
http://www.newstarget.com/z020329.html
NewsTarget.com printable article Originally published September 6 2006 Baby fat not so harmless: Overweight infants lead to obese adults (NewsTarget) While parents and even doctors tend to dismiss a child's extra pounds as "baby fat," a study published in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics found that people who are overweight as children are more likely to be overweight teenagers, and subsequently more likely to be overweight adults. "A lot of parents and pediatricians still tend to say, 'Oh, it's just baby fat.' This study shows that really isn't necessarily the case," says Dr. Jim Griffin of the U.S. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. "It's not predestination, but the odds are that the child who is overweight -- and significantly overweight -- in that period will continue to be overweight." The report was based on a day care study of over 1,000 healthy U.S. children in 10 locations across the nation, most of whom were from financially "well-off" families and born in 1991, when experts say the current obesity epidemic started gathering steam. The body mass index (BMI) of each child was measured periodically, and they were classified as overweight if the BMI reached or exceeded the 85th percentile, or within the top 15 percent of their age group. That classification means a 7-year-old weighing as little as 4 pounds more than their average peer was classified as overweight. Even though 4 pounds isn't much, lead author Dr. Philip Nader, professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, says it's part of the cumulative effect of continuous weight gain. "The closer you get to adolescence, the less likely it is to be able to shed that extra weight," he said. According to the study, 60 percent of the participants who were overweight at any time during preschool years were overweight by age 12, and 80 percent of kids who were overweight even once during their elementary years were also overweight by age 12. Preschoolers whose BMI was above the 50th percentile were six times more likely to be overweight when they reached adolescence. "These findings suggest that parents and health care providers may want to be even more vigilant than currently recommended in recognizing early signs of being on the path to overweight," the researchers reported. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Some children's vinyl lunch boxes contain unsafe levels of lead | Will Ketcher | General | 1 | June 23rd 06 03:37 PM |
misc.kids FAQ on the Pregnancy AFP Screen and the Triple Screen | [email protected] | Info and FAQ's | 0 | April 30th 05 05:24 AM |
misc.kids FAQ on the Pregnancy AFP Screen and the Triple Screen | [email protected] | Pregnancy | 0 | April 30th 05 05:24 AM |
misc.kids FAQ on the Pregnancy AFP Screen and the Triple Screen | [email protected] | Pregnancy | 0 | March 30th 05 06:33 AM |
misc.kids FAQ on the Pregnancy AFP Screen and the Triple Screen | [email protected] | Info and FAQ's | 0 | March 18th 04 09:11 AM |