Ask any new mother or father about their new baby and they will probably update you on how much weight you have gained lately.
Weighing the child every so often is typical of first-time parents, but many may remember those moments thinking that they have not done well at all because many times they hear things like that their little "is not gaining enough weight" and they end up thinking that they tried hard. Enough in your baby's nutrition.
The numbers on the scale have become a determining fact about the growth progress of a baby and parents have the idea that the more weight they gain, the better.
However, in the academic world we have known for a decade that being large and growing fast during childhood is an important risk factor for obesity during childhood, adolescence and adulthood. These data do not just reach pediatricians and other health professionals, so it does not reach parents and it is necessary to talk about why.
What about the growth charts?
Babies may not come with an instruction manual under the arm, but what is there are growth charts. The Growth Patterns of the World Health Organization describe the normal growth of a child from birth to five years and the growth of a baby should follow more or less the same curve over time.
Unfortunately, many parents interpret these growth charts incorrectly or have not received enough information about it and they end up thinking that if a growth above 50 is good and below is bad.
However, percentiles don't work that way. By definition, half of the population must be above 50 and half below. There will always be children who are part of the third percentile and children who are part of the 97. It is normal.How children eat
The worrying thing is that some parents seem to be conditioned with the idea that they have to feed their children until the values reach 50. Forcing a weight gain so quickly means a very rapid growth that increases the risk of obesity during childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
An example is when the mother is advised to supplement her baby's diet with preparations because she does not give enough milk. The preparations increase your baby's protein intake and will make you fat, causing the problem to be resolved in the short term. However, a high protein intake during the first two years may result in a weight gain too fast and at risk of obesity.
Solid foods are also important. In our last analysis, mothers used to say that their 14-month-old offspring were fussy at mealtime if they weighed less than other babies of the same age and gender. None of these children were malnourished and there was no evidence that they were eating less than those children who were not considered fussy.
The mothers they insisted that their children eat even if they were not hungry, using desserts as a bribe to eat the main course and fighting them if they didn't eat.
We want children to eat because they are hungry and not to please us. Eating for reasons beyond hunger leads to over-sex and obesity.Why is it something important?
The fact that we like chubby babies makes sense because throughout history it was normal for food to be scarce. Being overweight, especially during childhood, was a survival advantage.
But now our children are born in a "obesogenic environment" where junk food is cheap and affordable, and where our environment encourages us to move less and spend more time sitting. Is very difficult not to gain weight.
It is important that we feed the children so that they stop eating when they are full, instead of teaching them to ignore what the body tells them or to eat for reasons other than hunger.
What can we do?
Many scientists lament the time that passes until the findings are incorporated into daily practices. The latest Guide to infant feeding: Information for health workers published in 2012 hardly talks about premature growth and obesity.
And when this information is incorporated into the recommended guidelines, there is no comprehensive method for informing GPs about things that have changed, nor a way to measure whether the guidelines have been implemented.
As scientists we can explore innovative ways to share our research, such as with online courses on child nutrition.
Family doctors should continue to teach parents what a healthy child looks like in any of the percentiles and control their growth (and not just weight).
If you are a mother or father, the most important thing is that if someone tells you that your baby is not getting enough weight you doubt it. It demands that they explain to you what criteria they are using to issue such a judgment and how they can help you interpret that data.
I also like a chubby baby, but I really like a baby that stays in the same percentile with respect to its weight, height and head circumference throughout its growth.
Author: Rebecca Byrne, Dietitian and research fellow, Queensland University of Technology
This article has originally been published in The Conversation. You can read the original article here.
Translated by Silvestre Urbón.
