Your baby does not have to be fat for Grandma to pinch his cheeks! Baby fat can be a sign of a lifetime of weight struggles and all the chronic illnesses that go with obesity.
We now have growing numbers of obese 9 month olds...Really? Yes, really.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) childhood obesity has tripled over the last 3 decades, about 20% of kids between 6 and 11 are obese. As parents, we look forward to taking our babies to the doctor's office to have them weighed in - its almost a kind of parent prowess to know that our baby is putting on weight so quickly. We adopt strategies to cram every calorie we can into that tiny tummy to appease our Mom mania. The truth is, we are setting them up for a life time of frustration & potential illness. Mom, Chill!
Studies seem to confirm that babies overweight at 9 months had a 50% chance of being heavier at age 2.......and the pattern continues as the children age.
When I breast fed my sons -( ok they are tall, dark & gorgeous men now) my mother in law - who did not breast feed her kids - was always mystified by my breast feeding. "How do you know they are getting enough?" Unfortunately my breasts did not come with markers to let me know how much milk the baby has had. Me, being a new Mom & young doting wife I cared what others thought. The blessing of women turning 40 is that we really just don't care any more what people think. However, back in the day in my mid 20s I would quiver at the mother in law interrogation & say baby is happy, sleeping & growing. Looking at my sons now, I am so happy I did not succumb to the choruses of "shouldn't you supplement with formula?"
Fact is, exclusively breast feeding babies prevents obesity. Don't be intimidated by your friends who formula feed & stash cereal in the bottle when they boast their kids are in the 95th percentile of growth. And if you are bottle feeding - forcing the baby to keep taking more might not be best - check with your doctor - no offense to what your mother and mother in law say. This is NOT making a healthier child. And of course sugar addictions start young. I never did the apple juice thing - even worse sending baby to bed with a bottle of apple juice - so the sugary fluid sits on their teeth & gums setting the stage for poor oral health. The apple is much better than the apple juice. Our babies DO NOT always have to be eating and drinking! Alleviating parent guilt is not necessarily consistent with our kids best interests. Introduction of cereal too early can increase chances of childhood obesity.
We want our kids to be healthy. Yes we love our kids. A wish we should all have for our children is they should NEVER have to deal with obesity or any of the other complications that ensue. Chubby cheeks are not cute. They are a flashing red neon sign.
May you get at least 60 minutes of exercise today!
Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach, Certified Nutritional Symptomatologist, Personal trainer, Advanced Health & fitness Specialist, Corporate health & fitness coach, Fitness for chronic illness recovery Radio Talk Show Host Web Talk Radio - Eat Exercise Live - Google & Listen to top health researchers in the world! http://www.fitfan4fun.com/ http://www.torontocorporatehealthandfitnesscoach.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment