It’s part of our culture to love a chubby baby or toddler – but being overweight, even as a little one, is not the healthiest start, research has found.
It is time for a shift in attitude. Being a chubby baby is often seen as healthy, and something children will grow out of. But chubby toddlers are more likely to be chubby kids, who grow into overweight adults prone to health problems associated with being overweight. One in four children will start school being overweight or obese. Many mums can’t spot if their own child is of a healthy weight. A study showed that the mums thought 27% of the little ones were too thin, although only one was actually underweight. Furthermore mums are more worried that their child is not eating enough and not gaining enough weight, so they can pressure their kids to eat more.
Instead of making kids eat everything on their plate, we need to praise them when they try new foods and listen to them when they say they’ve had enough.
Being overweight or obese at a young age is increasingly being found to have unhealthy repercussions in the future. An Oxford University study has found that obese and overweight children as young as five are showing signs they could be at risk of heart attacks and strokes later in life.
Apparently these children are showing clinical signs of cardiovascular disease such as higher blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels than their normal-weight peers, as well as a thickening of the heart muscle.
Obese children could be at 30% to 40% higher risk of stroke and heart disease than their normal-weight counterparts. Obesity-related issues such as diabetes could stem back as far as in utero. A research has shown that what mums eat while pregnant could trigger a permanent change in the child’s genetic makeup, and then that child could pass the mutation on to future generations.
It’s not enough to ensure our kids eat well – we also need to make sure mums are eating healthily during pregnancy so a genetic tendency to become obese is not switched on.
