Does Your Baby's Bottle Make Her Thighs Look Fat?

April 2, 2009— -- A study just published in the respected journal Pediatrics suggested that when babies gain a lot of weight in their first six months, they would be obese at 3 years old.

For so long, the main nutrition concern regarding infants has been that they obtain enough nutrients and calories to support good growth and development. Well, America got the memo, at least about the calories.

Now there's an epidemic of obesity, and it seems to appear earlier and earlier in life. This study found that 7.5 percent of 3-year-olds were obese. That's about one in 13 toddlers, and that's 50 percent more than the one in 20 you'd otherwise expect. Of course, there really shouldn't be any obese 3-year-olds.

The cause: Nature? Nurture? Not enough recess?

OK, disregard the recess comment. Actually, this study didn't look at reasons for the obesity, only that it happened.

The researchers do pose some possible explanations, however, and I can concur, based on 25 years of clinical practice with parents and children: