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Are 21st century babies bigger?
[mis à jour le 16 October 2006 à 17h48]
There’s no doubt about it in the United States. A study has even shown that between 1980 and 2001, the proportion of infants aged 0 to 6 months who were overweight increased by 74%! Being overweight at six months very often means obesity several years later.
It was in fact in this age group that Pr Matthew Gillmam at the Harvard Medical School in Boston, observed the highest weight gain. A particularly worrying observation. “This information is very important in terms of public health. A number of studies have shown that an excessively rapid weight gain during the first few months of life exposes a person to obesity in later life”, he says.
Generally speaking, the incidence of excess weight has spiralled by 60% since 1980 for children aged between 0 and 9 years. Lastly, for those regarded as being at risk of excess weight, the increase was 30%! A good opportunity to point out that the WHO published completely updated weight curves for small children in April of this year. To consult them, click here. Source: Harvard Medical School, 9 August 2006 - Photo Destination Santé
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18 article(s)
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