New growth charts for children to combat obesity
In an effort to identify babies at risk for obesity, the government will introduce new child growth rates charts. No longer will those pudgy, adorable babies be the norm. Instead, we will start seeing those slimmer, trimmer babies. That’s right, health experts want to encourage breast-feeding and it is well-known that breast-fed babies grow slower. However, it is recommended that after 6 months of breast-feeding, babies are given some baby food, which helps them grow faster.
I remember breast feeding my baby and we went for a well-baby check at around 4 months. The paediatrician had to keep re-weighing her because she could not believe the scale. According to her records, my little girl had not gained any weight since she was 2 months. She was falling off the growth chart. Yet, to look at her, she was as happy and healthy as could be. She was not the chubbiest of babies, but she had nice rolls in her thighs and her cheeks were full (they still are, 10 years on). So, we had to supplement with formula more.
Had we had different growth charts back then, perhaps the concern would not have been so great. She might have appeared on the overweight side at the beginning and dipped down to normal. As it was, she was average and had dipped to below average.
Since obesity leads to many health problems and we are now starting to recognise that obesity can begin very early in life, the change in growth charts will be able to identify those at risk. Of course, nothing is fool-proof, but it’s a start. It won’t mean that all heavy babies are obese. Only those who are not long enough to support their weight. The chart is meant to carry out weight-for-height measurements.
No longer will averages in weight and height depend on what is perceived to be the norm based on the majority of babies being fed formula, but on those being breast-fed. Should breast-fed babies increase in size in the future, the growth charts will change again. But, if obese women produce more milk and their babies feed more and eventually get bigger, will changing the growth charts at that time defeat the purpose? I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
