I am sure every mommy is happy to see her baby has a good appetite. Even more, they don’t mind if their baby is a little fat, but, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, babies who gain weight quickly during their first six months of life could be at a higher risk of being obese by the age of three.

 

The findings are based on an analysis of 559 children in the Boston area involved in Project Viva, an ongoing study of pregnant women and their children. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Children’s Hospital Boston measured each child’s weight and length at birth and 6 months, and then weight and height at 3 years. Then the babies were divided in four groups based on their weight-for-length gain.

 

"We found that children who grew rapidly during that time period had a high risk of obesity at three years,” lead author Dr. Elsie Taveras assistant professor in the department of ambulatory care and prevention at Harvard said.

 

More exactly, the kids in the highest quartile at 6 months had a 40 percent risk of being obese at 3 years old compared to a 1 percent risk for children in the lowest quartile.

 

The findings is particularly worrisome, as obesity rates among US kids have doubled in the last 20 years, with almost a third of them being overweight or obese. Obesity is known to increase risk for a host of health problems such as higher risks for heart disease, diabetes and cancer.