America's babies are chubbier than they used to be, according to a new study.
The study encountered a 74% jump in newborn babies at 6 months that are overweight, and a 59% increase in babies at risk of becoming overweight.Estimates are based on information on 120,000 children up to 6 years in a Massachusetts (HMO) health maintenance organization between 1980 and 2001.
"Obesityepidemic has spared the age group, even our younger children," says researcher Matthew Gilman, MD, says at a Harvard news release.
Gilman is an associate professor of the outpatient department and ambulatory prevention of Harvard Medical School. He also works at Harvard Peregrim Health Care.
The study appears in the July issue of obesity.
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Babies and children usually see doctors quite frequently for routine exams. The researchers observed only one set of measurements for each child per year to avoid tilting the data.
Here are the results for children under 6 years, including babies:
- Excess weight prevalence increased from 6.3% to 10%
- Prevalence of being at risk of overweight increased from about 11% to 14%.
Looking specifically in children up to 6 months old, in 1980-1981, 3.4% were overweight, and about 7% risk of becoming overweight.
Twenty years later, 5.9% of babies were overweight, and 11.1% risked the risk of becoming overweight.
"Our data demonstrate that overweight is increasing in very small children, including babies," write the researchers.

The study does not indicate whether overweight babies have become overweight from teenagers and adults, or if they were healthy - just a little heavy.
But other studies have shown that extra pounds are often in childhood for adulthood, researchers notice.
Gilman says "efforts to avoid obesity should begin in the early stages of human development, even before birth."
Dela Recommendations:
- Do not smoke or earn a lot of weight during pregnancy
- Take steps to avoid gestational diabetes
- Breastfeeding your baby
These steps were shown to give the children a head at home to healthy weight, Gilman notes.
A certain amount of "baby fat" is normal. If you are worried about your child's weight, ask your child's pediatrician for advice.