Dispelling the Myth that All Chubby babies are at Risk for Later Over-Weight and Obesity - Essay Example

Running head: DISPELLING THE CHUBBY BABY MYTH Dispelling the Myth that All Chubby babies are at Risk for Later Over-Weight and Obesity [Click here and type your name] [Click here and type your institution's name] Abstract There has always been a common myth surrounding new infants and their birth weights and their rapid weight gains and how that will determine their childhood weight status. The purpose of this paper is to examine two individual papers surrounding this myth in a subjective manner. Using two articles that look at two very different studies in context of measuring infant obesity and it's affects in childhood weight status. It is important to realize that although there is truth in curbing infant to child obesity problems, it is important to provide the age distinction that this is found to be a problem at during the first year of infancy. The Obesity Myth Many parents of infants who are born in the upper 95th percentile in the weight category tend to picture their children being obese during their childhood years and perhaps even into adulthood. The purpose of this paper is to look into the myth and if there is any merit to believing this to be a true depiction of an infant's future weight patterns. Many pediatricians will review official charts that have been compiled by such governmental agencies such as the CDC. One particular chart entitled Weight-for-age percentiles: Girls, 2 to 20 years, published May 30, 2000 shows that on a percentile scoring system for girls an average four year old the upper 97th percentile has a female at approximately 48 pounds, it would chart an approximate normal weight gain of ten pounds per year until they reach puberty, whereby it increases at a higher rate of speed until adulthood. Doctors and clinical pediatricians will only advise that it is impossible to project a child's possibility of being overweight or obese from the weight charts that were recorded when the child was an infant. Infants are constantly changing their weight composition as they go through at least four different growth spurts (6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 1 year) which makes it impossible to quickly analyze that data into an assumption that if a child is over the 95th percentile they are destined to be an obese or overweight child. To deduce the predisposition for obesity in children is generally to look at the genetics of the father and mother and to understand if the parents were obese as children, they would look to their own parents as a source of information. Therefore, any plausible article on infant weight gain is in fact unjustified and should be used in dispelling the myth of what "chubby" babies will lead to with respect to childhood obesity problems. Childhood obesity problems can more often than not, be tied to genetic medical problems such as thyroid or pancreatic problems; or, even lack of exercise and poor choice in dietary selections. Clinical Studies The study entitled Infant Weight Gain and Childhood Overweight Status in a Multicenter, Cohort Study, followed 27,899 eligible participants who were born full term between the years of 1959 and 1965 with a main outcome measure of having an overweight status at the age of seven with a body mass index above the 95th percentile based on the CDC's reference data. Of the participants that formed part of the study, it was concluded there was correlation between rapid increases in weight of as much as 100g / month during the first four months of life were in fact linked to a child being overweight at the age of seven years. The majority of this study was in finding that the greatest cause for concern was during the ages of birth and four months where it would have appeared that if an infant were to gain above the allowable x g/month, then this would then show that at the age of seven years, the child would automatically be obese for the rest of his/her childhood years. The findings from this study had the authors' concluding that through confirmation of other studies in the same subject area found a risk of being overweight at the age of seven years old was tied to a rapid weight gain that occurred during the first four months of life. The study entitled, Rapid weight gain during infancy and obesity in young adulthood in a cohort of African-Americans, with 300 participants found that since 1969 there has been a great definition change in the descriptors of an obese infant and an overweight/over-fat infants and this is based upon the skinfold thickness. There was evidence that there was no significant interaction in the association between a rapid early infancy weight gain and adult obesity or overweight/over-fat status based on genetically pronounced evidence. This would prove a valuable point that in some instances the variables shown within the study do not actually match up with genetics, thus disproving the entire thesis of that all chubby babies being automatically defined as a predisposition to obesity in young children. The Myth Discussed Although both these studies infer that there is confirmation that infant obesity can lead to childhood obesity problems, it is important to note that the studies found that those infants with a higher than normal weight gain (100g/month) during the first four months of their infancy were susceptible to later life overweight problems. There is also the need to ensure that society has a non-discriminatory realization that there is a difference between obese and overweight/over-fat children/infants based on their skinfold measurement. By defining this more structured analysis of those infants that fall under each of those categories can a pediatrician, family physician or parent make a truly accurate analysis of that child being obese or not. It is not a complete or scientific diagnosis that obese infants have a future as an overweight or obese child as there is not any truly scientific proof that can take into account all factors that may have a future obese child on hand. The only true diagnosis is looking through genetics. If the infant's child was overweight or obese as an infant/child, there is probability that this child will have a greater than average chance of following the same path. Likewise, by looking at the parents' parents one can deduce if they were obese as a child also. PDR Health also dispels this myth by stating on their website that due to our culture's concern with weight and body image many parents get worried when they see their own chubby baby. This is where the myth is in need of being publicly acknowledged with respect to misguidance by those who wish to alarm parents unnecessarily. Chubby baby syndrome is a concern that simply does not apply to infants. It is a known fact that if a formula fed baby gains excessive weight it is more likely due to the improper mixing of formula and breast-fed babies will drink and eat what they wish to. Healthy babies will eat appropriately if they are given the opportunity and you can compromise your infant's health by trying to keep his weight down. It is common knowledge that in order to dispel myths of this nature, parents need to know that as long as the baby is growing normally, as determined by a pediatrician, they will chart the baby's growth at each well-baby visit which will indicate if there is a problem with potential obesity. Infant children, especially during the first year of life, will potentially gain and lose weight as they go through growth spurts. One of the projected growth spurts is at three months and a child will put on weight through the need to eat to keep up with growth in height and bone mass. This is why the studies are not a factual accounting of a child that is entirely out of the growth spurt in order to assess the true gram/month ratio. Conclusion The natural inclination toward a parent when they see their "chubby" baby is to immediately assume that child is moving toward being an obese child which is not entirely the case and more studies should be conducted on those variables that are obviously not being taken into consideration such as the child have paternal parents that were obese or not obese as a child of the very same age, medical evaluations that have not taken place yet to ensure there could be an explanation based on the findings. There is enough evidence to contradict the findings of the researchers and doctors involved in the research as there really are no such findings that point to unequivocal and empirical evidence that obesity can be pinpointed to the infancy years. Doctors and pediatricians will simply point out that as long as the infant is eating normally and drinking formula or breastfeeding and gaining adequate weight, there is no cause for alarm. Other factors that were not completely taken into account in the two articles critiqued were the growth spurts that occur at various stages during the first year of infancy. Specifically, the four month study results are during the exact time of the second growth spurt that an infant will experience and the amount of weight gain that these infants in the study were extremely normal with respect to coming out of a recent growth spurt where their entire eating is based on bone and muscle mass increases. Studies of this nature are not conclusive enough to immediately declare this type of statement true with any true sense of conviction. Infants are constantly changing based on their growth spurts and subsequent increase in activity level, therefore, to immediately conclude that at four months old you will be able to project an obesity problem in the same child when they reach the age of seven years or older. To look at obesity problems in children would be to look at lifestyle preferences or even medical problems, such as thyroid problems. The children of today are less active and make poor food choices whereby chocolate and french fries are the food of choice. This is where the problem of obesity in children should be examined and not in whether they were chubby as infants. References PDR. (2004) Giving your Baby an Ideal Diet. Thomson PDR Healthcare. Accessed April 3, 2006 from http://www.pdrhealth.com/content/nutrition_health/chapters/fgnt17.shtml Stettler, Nicolas, Kumanyika, Shiriki K, Katz, Solomon H, Zemel, Babette S and Stallings, Virginia A. (2003) "Rapid weight gain during infancy and obesity in young adulthood in a cohort of African Americans". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. [Online} Accessed April 3, 2006 from www.pubmed.com Stettler, Nicolas, Zemel, Babette S., Kumanyika, Shiriki and Stallings, Virginia A. (2002) "Infant Weight Gain and Childhood Overweight Status in a Multicenter, Cohort Study". American Academy of Pediatrics. [Online} Accessed April 3, 2006 from www.pubmed.com Read More