Infancy and BMI

A high BMI of a baby will put its life at risk for being obese by the time the baby reaches 2 years old. This is in accordance to the new study. The researchers at a child hospital in Philadelphia says that they have found out that the BMI during infancy is a good determining factor for later obesity than the standard weight being measured during the first 2 years of life. This was according to the study that has been published in a Pedia journal. Before the baby turned 2 years old, the doctors all over the globe suggest that there must be a follow weight for length guidelines more than just using the BMI as a guide. It will be used for kids more than 2 years old to know if they have or will have health issues in life. The weight for the length guides will not respond to the age, such as the BMI charts, but the researchers said that it can make it hard to know if a child is obese or not.

The link between BMI and WFL

The first research conducted to compare the BMI with the WFL in terms of determining the obesity of a child. This is based on the study conducted by Dr. Zemel of a nutrition lab and hospital in Philadelphia in a PR. They have discovered that as the BMI as well as the WFL agree after the baby reaches 6 months of age, the higher the BMI by 2 months old, the better it will be as a predictor of obesity when the child reaches 2 years of life than the WFL. They highly suggest that the doctors and lab experts must consider measuring the BMI of the baby during their early months of life.

For the research, the researchers are analyzing the medical records for nearly 73,000 babies who are always at the doctor for the years 2006 & 2011; this is after delivery and up to 2 years old. Looking through the BMI was more precise before they reach the age of 2 than the WFL. It is when compared to the 29% using the WFL. There was a wide range of possible causes for a child to become obese and these were determined in a current study, some factors include diet and genes. But of course, the researchers in the new study say that there is a tool that will determine obesity and that might not be good since the possibility of stopping the problem will also stop when the method stops.