Today's new borns have a higher risk of obesity than ever before

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A long-term study shows that babies are getting more overweight.
Childhood obesity is currently of major concern because being overweight at a young age often means overweight and obesity in adult life - with all the accompanying health risks. Researchers at Harvard Medical School have been looking at the weights of children under six over the last 22 years. They now have data on over 120,000 children, including those aged from birth to six months which is a group seldom studied before.

Over the course of the study, the prevalence of overweight children has gone up from 6.3 per cent to ten per cent. The number of overweight infants - from birth to six months - has gone up by 74 per cent. The findings suggest that efforts to prevent obesity ought to start even before birth. Pregnant women can avoid smoking and becoming overweight or obese themselves, as these are known to reduce the risk of childhood overweight. Breastfeeding can also help to prevent childhood obesity.

Source
Obesity July 2006

Please take a moment to give us your comments. For questions about Health matters you may check our "Questions & Answers" Portal and Service.