Overweight babies and delayed motor skills
Fat babies may be adorable, but being overweight delays a baby's ability to roll over, crawl, or master other important physical skills.
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Fat babies may be adorable, but being overweight delays a baby's ability to roll over, crawl, or master other important physical skills.
To examine how infant weight relates to infant development, researchers evaluated 215 African-American infants at various times up to 18 months. During home visits, the researchers documented each infant's ability to perform 14 to 21 different age-appropriate skills. At each visit, they also measured pudginess and weight of the infants. Initially, 62 babies were overweight as per U.S. Centers for Disease Control's weight-for-length standards for 3-month-old infants. At six months, 30 were overweight, and by 18 months, 14 remained so. Twenty of the 3-month-olds had higher skin fat averages than the rest of the participants at that age. By 18 months, 12 remained overly fat compared with the others.
Generally, 3-month-olds balance their head, sit with support, and roll over, and 6-month-olds sit alone and show signs of crawling. But 6-month-olds with low motor skills might not sit steadily for 30 seconds without support or roll from their backs on to their stomachs. Eighteen-month-olds with low motor skills might not have enough balance to walk backwards or sideways, or stand on one foot for two seconds. Normally, walking skills develop between 9 and 12 months, and 18-month-olds walk backwards and up stairs.
Of the 152 infants found to be overweight during any of these evaluations, 20 percent - 31 infants - had delayed motor skills. A total of 75 babies had higher than average measures of belly, upper-arm, and upper-back skin fat. Of these, 23 percent - 17 infants - had delayed motor skills. Motor skill delays such as an inability to sit steadily for 30 seconds were about twice as likely in overweight and overly fat infants as in those with normal weight and fat.
The findings suggest that overweight infants and those with excessive body fat have a higher risk for delayed motor development than infants without extra weight and fat.
To examine how infant weight relates to infant development, researchers evaluated 215 African-American infants at various times up to 18 months. During home visits, the researchers documented each infant's ability to perform 14 to 21 different age-appropriate skills. At each visit, they also measured pudginess and weight of the infants. Initially, 62 babies were overweight as per U.S. Centers for Disease Control's weight-for-length standards for 3-month-old infants. At six months, 30 were overweight, and by 18 months, 14 remained so. Twenty of the 3-month-olds had higher skin fat averages than the rest of the participants at that age. By 18 months, 12 remained overly fat compared with the others.
Generally, 3-month-olds balance their head, sit with support, and roll over, and 6-month-olds sit alone and show signs of crawling. But 6-month-olds with low motor skills might not sit steadily for 30 seconds without support or roll from their backs on to their stomachs. Eighteen-month-olds with low motor skills might not have enough balance to walk backwards or sideways, or stand on one foot for two seconds. Normally, walking skills develop between 9 and 12 months, and 18-month-olds walk backwards and up stairs.
Of the 152 infants found to be overweight during any of these evaluations, 20 percent - 31 infants - had delayed motor skills. A total of 75 babies had higher than average measures of belly, upper-arm, and upper-back skin fat. Of these, 23 percent - 17 infants - had delayed motor skills. Motor skill delays such as an inability to sit steadily for 30 seconds were about twice as likely in overweight and overly fat infants as in those with normal weight and fat.
The findings suggest that overweight infants and those with excessive body fat have a higher risk for delayed motor development than infants without extra weight and fat.
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