As an adult, you can’t watch or read the news without seeing another story about the growing epidemic of obesity, and what is causing it. Although, in recent years, such an issue has primarily applied to adults and teens, obesity may actually start in childhood, according to a story from FoxNews.com. More larger babies are being born, and while many of these chubby babies grow up into average-sized children, not all do. If the baby fat lasts past the first few years, it appears, a child may be at a greater risk for obesity.
While obesity at an early age is the gist of the Fox story, how obesity grows into a problem is addressed from two angles: the literally growing size of infants and eating habits. Both complement each other. For the former, the Fox story notes that, a few decades ago, only 15 percent of all babies were above the 85th percentile in weight. Presently, 30 percent of all babies are at this level. 16 percent of Six-month-olds, similarly, are now above the 96th percentile in weight, although this figure should be five percent, ideally.
Parents, on the other hand, shouldn’t put their six-month-olds on a diet. Instead, how the child holds onto the fat should be tracked. If a child continues to be heavy past two or three years of age, he or she appears to be at a greater risk for obesity.
Aside from overall increasing baby weights, the Fox story lightly addresses nutrition. Overweight adults and teens can adjust their eating habits to shed the extra pounds, and the same can be done for babies. As a parent, be wary of what your child consumes, particularly healthful-seeming foods like juice. As a general rule for everyone, fewer fatty and sugary foods should be part of a diet, and the same applies to babies. The Fox article takes it a step further and suggests that babies should be eating more fiber-rich fruits and vegetables instead of juice and junk food.
