To wonder if fat people overfeed their babies....

[LittlebearH]

Ok...bit of a judgy one I am guilty. I am ready to get flamed!

But I have been to a few baby groups there and cannot help but wonder why a few (VERY) large mothers seem to have overweight babies.

One this morning had a 4 and a half month old who weighed 20lbs and she was weaning him already too. She also told me he has 7 7oz bottles a day. He was just over 8lb when born 2 weeks over due.

My DD is 9 months and only weighs 18lbs and is fully weaned. She is on the 25th centile and I am not underfeeding her!! :)

I was a bit when she told me he is weaning him. Is she over feeding??
Has anyone else wondered this?

Just reading that back made me wonder if there has been an increase in "fat" babies since the weaning guidelines have been changed from 4 to 6 months.

That's a lot of babies taking in a lot of extra calories. I wonder if this is a good thing or a bad thing in terms of childhood obesity.

I guess its a play-off between the allergy/bowel thing and energy consumption. Obviously in normal weight children (or any child who is basically following their centile) its a non-issue but in babies who are off the chart its food for thought.

No I don't think thats the case (although I am sure it does happen) I have been overweight (size 16-18 overweight not obese!) since my daughter was born and she is on the 9th percentile but has had quite a few problems with her allergies etc plus she is extremely active and has been walking since the day she turned 10 months. I think it also depends on the activity of the child which might contribute to whether they eat more or less. Mine was weaned at around 4.5 months and eats well. If he weighs 20lbs maybe he is naturally more hungry and needing more. I really don't like seeing `fat' babies though, Chubby babies are very cute but fat ones aren't.

I agree Tatty, the `average' weight of a baby must change with changes in our society and overall eating habits. As I said my Little one is on the 9th but she certainly doesnt look scraggy. She is slim but also very strong and active that is why I am the health vistors don't seem too worried.

Another thing I don't understand is when the health guidlines say do't wean until 6 months but then go on about how you MUST start at 6 months and make sure they are getting enough. It takes time for a child to wean and I would have thought it better to be a slower, graudual process than to worry about it as soon as 6 months arrives.

"Who else is to blame Gorionne? Only parents have responsibility over what their child eats and how much they exercise."

I did not say that parents have no responsability in their children obesity Riven, I am saying that the belief that obese parent=obese children is wrong. Overfeeding children is not exclusively done by overweight parents. I suspect it is easy to make the connection because of first seing the mum is overweight and then realising that the baby is big as well. I think there is prejudice because if we see an overweight baby with a skinny mother the thought will be "oh they will grow out of it" but in the case of an overweight baby with an overweight mother the thought will be "what is she doing to that poor child".

Interesting, Tatty. I was encouraged to wean my babies at 4 months (in line with recommendations 10 and 7 years ago) on to a few spoonfuls of baby rice twice a day. Looking back, I'm fairly sure that super slim DS1 was just having a growth spurt and could have gone longer. However DS2 I think needed the fullness in his tummy. He would guzzle a bottle then throw some up then scream for more. He settled quite quickly once weaned.

That's true Beebuzzer, they are 6 months and suddenly its all urgent and they apparently have to be on 3 meals within a week or something! Its madness!

gorionine....It is more likely that obese parents will have obese children, this is fact.

Yes Tatty,As I said on another post about this issue most of our mums weaned us by four months in the past and their generations did not have the same obesity issues we have today.

It is a fact that obese parents will have obese CHILDREN, but is it necessarily a fact that obese parents will have obese BABIES? That is what this discussion is about.

My baby is not obese. She is under the 0.4th centile for weight and height - she is in proportion. No doctors have been concerned. I am morbidly obese. I'm sure, when she's older, she will have a tendency to 'run to fat' if I'm not careful about what she eats and how much she exercises.

She may end up an obese child (although I will try my best not to let that happen) but she isn't an obese baby. The OP was about a 4 month old baby.

"It is a fact that obese parents will have obese CHILDREN"

Is it?

Fuck off

Sorry, I meant it is a fact that obese parents are more likely to have obese children - Merely quoting from above (but badly, it seems).

QOD Wed 17-Nov-10 08:32:34
Fattest kid I Know is now 9st 8 (was 10st but her mum has put her on a diet) - she is 10
Grossly overweight - her mum is 5ft 6 and under 7 stone - blows your theory out of the water.

I know I've read an article on research that found mothers who were constantly dieting where more likely to have daughters with over eating or anorexic condition plus both sexes of DC were more likely to be overweight than average. They concluded the mothers were feeding the DC the rubbish they were avoiding - thus giving them a poorer diet - though their research did not provided evidence this was the case.

I also though you were not supposed to put DC on diets - but just cut portions and cut juice and let them grow into their size rather than reduce weight.

What is really worrying is that this was a 10 year old - more and more girls start periods at 11. The body before this time puts weight and fat down - like DC do just before growth spurts. Wonder if DC was actually gross overweight or her body was making changes and the mother has issues.

At 4 and a half months my baby boy was huge, a lovely fat cuddly baby. He was exclusively breast fed.
Now, I am not overweight, but if I was I wonder if you would assume he was being overfed?
YABVU

A lot of babies are very large and have chubby legs and bellies , arms and faces.
It's the way some babies are.
I find it utterly depressing that you are already being competitive about the weight of your child compared to others.
Your poor DD will grow up with issues if you are not careful.

I find it utterly depressing that you are already being competitive about the weight of your child compared to others.

I think the really worrying thing is it babies being judged here. All mine were large birth weights but some of the family wanted DDs on diets but boasted of DS weight and wanted him on ff top up when is weight gain leveled off like theirs. While behavior like that is always worrying I thought it extreme it was being applied to babies - it is shocking how many people share their ignorance.

It is also worrying how many people think fat baby means obese adult. The later in childhood the weight problems the higher the risk of obesity in adulthood so obesity in teenagers is a risk factor but babies being judged is so wrong.

QuintessentialShadows
will not forget a woman in our local nhs ante natal group. We had taken our babies (3/4 month olds) to the park for them to lie on blankets and kick and just be while we sipped coffees and chatted. One woman, tall and slim, told us proudly she had started halving the amount of formula mixed in her baby girls bottles, because she did not want her to develop so many fat deposits, as this would cause her to be fat when she grew up.

Oh why can not people grasp that DC and babies are different to adults. If I have to explain again to some family members that calorific restricted diets for DC are a really crappy idea likely to do harm and that young DC need more fat in their diets and that some vitamins they need are fats soluble I think I will co-mitt violence.

"see, I never said anything about the weight of the parents. I just said parents are responisble for their childs weight. Parents. As in all of them. I believe it was the OP who made a sweeping large parent = ;arge child generalisation
not me "

Yes, sorry, I am once againguilty of posts mixing

i was devastated that dd1 was so scrawny
my brother had a boy a month after my daughter and he was the fattest loveliest thing

i never questioned my sil's feeding regime just envied the thigh rolls and buttery skin

NonBlondGirl: "Oh why can not people grasp that DC and babies are different to adults. If I have to explain again to some family members that calorific restricted diets for DC are a really crappy idea likely to do harm and that young DC need more fat in their diets and that some vitamins they need are fats soluble I think I will co-mitt violence."

I completely agree! At one point, had a relative questioning whether it was wise of me to give a toddler a piece of avocado, because they're "so high in fat".

You're be pleased to hear that I was quite sarcastic about her presumption that a growing child's needs were less than the needs of an adult who was merely maintaining him/herself

But for pete's sake, I shouldn't have had to.

Oh, I also had "how come you give them high-fat food, but not chocolate cookies?"

I am short and thin, DP is tall and thin: DD is dead on average weight and height and always has been.

DD had cake for breakfast on Tuesday. (It was DPs birthday.)

So, in answer to your theory. No! Don't be silly. Unless they are mixing up formula in correctly they aren't over feeding. The above by Tattydevine also explains why weaning probably makes sense for that mum.