Did your chubby baby grow up to be overwight?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I have a beautiful 6 month old baby boy who weighs 20 pounds already and is in the 90th percentile! He started out at right around 7 lbs at birth and just continued to gain steadily. While he's so cute and adorable, I've begun to get worried about some of the recent research suggesting chubby babies may grow up to be overweight kids. And also that formula fed infants have a higher risk of being overweight as they grow up (our baby never really took to breastfeeding no matter how hard I tried so we switched to formula). My question is- do any of you have now normal weight toddlers/older children who were very chubby as babies? If so, when did you start to see them stop continuing to gain so rapidly?

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Both of my babies were super chubby and neither is now overweight, although they're now both 90th percentile for height and weight (both of my boys are long and lean). They started to slim down once they started walking and I'd say it was noticeable by their second birthdays.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP. Once they become active, they start to thin out, but then again, it depends on the child. My ds was 6 lbs., 5.9 oz at full term and he is now 4y9m and in the 90th percentile at 47 lbs. and he's not a big eater, but a bit tall for his age.

[Anonymous]

I agree with the PP. Most babies slim down once they start crawling and walking. I know this doesn't answer your question exactly, but I wouldn't worry about it right now.

[Anonymous]

mine is.

he was 6.5 lbs and now 56 lbs @ 4y8m (i think his BMI is 22?). there's no sign of him slowing down.

yeah, we're very concerned but nothing worked yet.

[Anonymous]

My niece was super chubby -- in a 2T at 6 months (w/ the pants rolled at the waist). She's now a petite 6-year-old. No effort or anything on the parent's part to get her to slim down; just happened naturally once she became active.

[Anonymous]

6 mos. is too early to tell.

I DO have a heavy child who was a heavy baby and a somewhat heavy toddler. He has some fat around the waistband but is otherwise just ... heavy.

I think genes have everything to do with where your offspring will settle. I come from a long line of heavy, tall, big boned, thick-waisted Germans and Swedes. Interestingly, none of us eat Cheez Doodles and some of us work outdoors all day long on farms, yet we are still pretty big people.

[Anonymous]

My DS was in the 90th percentile at 5 months, but between 6-9 months slimmed down to the 75%. He's now hovering around the 80% at 11 months, but their weight changes considerably as they become more active.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:mine is.

he was 6.5 lbs and now 56 lbs @ 4y8m (i think his BMI is 22?). there's no sign of him slowing down.

yeah, we're very concerned but nothing worked yet.

How tall his your ds?

[Anonymous]

I had 3 roly-poly little fatties. Just rolls of fat everywhere on their legs & arms, chubby bellies, double chins, etc.

Fast forward, now my problem is everyone's pants are always falling down! I can never find things that fit in length but have a small enough waist. Everything has to be adjustable waist so I can cinch it in. My kids are generally good eaters but they are extremely active and they all slimmed down a lot after they got out of toddlerhood. My oldest, DD, is almost 10 and super skinny( though she is also the most adventurous eater). She is over 80th percentile for height but below 20th for weight. The ped says she's fine because she does eat well, she has plenty of energy, and she is growing great in terms of her height, she just happens to be a string bean. My 2 boys are thin too and also taller than average but below 50th percentile for weight, but they are a little more "solid" and muscular. So yes, I had 3 really fat babies and now I have 3 skinny kids, and we never paid attention to their weight, though we do try to feed them healthy foods and encourage them to play sports and be active.

I would never worry about weight issues with a 6-month old. With a 4-yr old who's very overweight, maybe I'd start to be concerned, but not with an infant.

[Anonymous]

My sister was a big baby, really chubby, now at 21 she's 5'6" and a size 0. I, on the other hand, was a skinny baby, and am now 5'10" and a size 16.

[Anonymous]

You need to consider where they fall in the percentiles for height when considering their weight. My son has always been in the 99th percentile for both, but was definitley never considered an overly chubby baby. Once he started moving, he definitely stopped looking heavier, though he was still at the 99th percentile. Pediatricians have never expressed any concern with his build.

[Anonymous]

Please, don't worry about this. As he grows makes sure he is active and eats right and he will be the weight he is meant to be.

[Anonymous]

Thansk to everyone who responded. He is quite an active baby already so perhaps I shouldn't worry as much. I was just kind of paranoid about how people keep saying breastfeeding prevents obesity and formula fed infants tend to have a higher risk of being overweight. Breastfeeding never came easily to us like it did for others, and while initially I wasn't too concerned with the switch to formula, since he is so chubby now I was wondering if maybe I should pay more attention to this.

[Anonymous]

Both my brother and I were EBF until at least 8 months. We were both VERY chubby babies, and even though you couldn't call us fat growing up, we were not thin and my brother always had a little tire. Now he is extremely overweight and I am a tad chubby, but just had a baby. I am usually within a normal weight but never very skinny. However, I always struggle with my weight and it is only vanity that keeps me where I am.

Science shows that being overweight as a baby can have an impact, but I'm willing to bet its also the fact that we were raised with very bad eating habits. My mother used to let us have 3-4 bowls of ice cream in a night if we wanted to. I wouldn't worry that your baby is chubby, as long as you instill good healthy eating habits I bet your DC will be just fine.