Infants as young as six months old now being treated for obesity

Friday, September 28, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: infant health, childhood obesity, health news

(NewsTarget) In many cases, children as young as six months old are obese enough to require medical treatment, according to 50 pediatricians consulted by the BBC. The doctors expressed concern that parents have a poor conception of the types and quantity of food required by young children, as well as what a healthy weight is.

Dr. Tabitha Randell of Nottingham gave as an example a 2.5-year-old child she examined who weighed more than 25 kilograms (56 pounds). A healthy weight for a child of this age is approximately 28 pounds.

"They said she was big-boned and they were too," Randell said. "I think the perception of parents is a very real problem. If you see every other child in the playground with their belly hanging over their trousers, you think that's normal."

The doctors consulted said that many parents are serving their children too much food, and of the wrong kind -- particularly foods high in sugar or fat. As an example, one doctor cited parents who had fed an infant a McDonald's milkshake through a baby bottle.

Pediatricians recommend that one-year-olds eat 1 tablespoon of meat or one egg, and half a small fruit, two to four times per day; 1 tablespoon of vegetables three to five times per day; and one slice of bread or 1 tablespoon of starchy food four to six times per day. Two to three-year-olds should eat slightly larger portions.

British physicians are divided on the issue of whether obesity should be classified as a child protection issue, making parents legally liable if their children are severely overweight. The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health rejects this position, saying, "Obesity is a public health problem, not a child protection issue." Nevertheless, the British Medical Association will debate a motion about the issue at its forthcoming annual conference.