Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (February 11, 2010) While many adults consider a chubby baby healthy, too many plump infants grow up to be obese teens, saddling them with Type-2 diabetes, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure, according to an article published this month in the journal Clinical Pediatrics (published by SAGE).
The research suggests that the "tipping point" in obesity often occurs before two years of age, and sometimes as early as three months, when the child is learning how much and what to eat.
"I really think this should be a wake up call for doctors," said principal investigator Dr. John Harrington, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters and an assistant professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School. "Too often, doctors wait until medical complications arise before they begin treatment. What this study suggests is that prevention of obesity should begin far, far earlier."
This study comes in the midst of alarming rates of childhood obesity, which now ranks as one of the most prominent health concerns in the United States today. While some hospitals have begun offering healthy eating and weight loss program for children, what hasn't been as clear is how early to intervene.
The researchers examined records from a pediatric practice of 111 children whose body mass index (BMI) exceeded 85 percent of the general population. Researchers determined that these children had started gaining weight in infancy at an average rate of .08 excess BMI units per month. On average, this progression began when the children were three months old. Over half the children became overweight at or before age 2 and 90 percent before reaching their 5th birthday.
The Clinical Pediatrics study suggests obesity prevention efforts should begin before age two, when children reach a "tipping point" in a progression that leads to obesity later in life.
| Contact: Greg Raver-Lampman Greg.Lampman@chkd.org 757-668-7554 SAGE Publications Source:Eurekalert |
Related biology news :
1. First orchid fossil puts showy blooms at some 80 million years old
2. ESA celebrates 100 years of insect science journals
3. Researchers detect hint of oxygen 50 to 100 million years earlier than first believed
4. The benefits of 80 million years without sex
5. Researchers find origin of breathable atmosphere half a billion years ago
6. Fossil record reveals elusive jellyfish more than 500 million years old
7. Rodent fossils allows to determine climate of the Iberian Peninsula 6 million years ago
8. Atomic bomb survivor, scientists mark 60 years of long-term radiation study
9. Molecular Biology of the Cell celebrates 25 years of publication
10. 4 health behaviors can add 14 extra years of life
11. After more than 100 years apart, webworms devastate New Zealand parsnips
| Copyright © 2003-2012 Bio-Medicine. All rights reserved. ABOUT | CONTACT US | DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY POLICY | TERMS AND CONDITIONS |  |