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Obesity Threatens Small Babies, Study Says

Nowadays, the spread of obesity among infants has become a serious issue.

A recent study of Harvard University shows that growing obesity has become alarming even for babies, not only for children and adults.

Since 1980 children under the age of six have become almost too times fatter and the risk of being overweight has jumped most for babies under six months.

These babies, who are born heavy or gain weight quickly in early life are likelier to face serious health problems like obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and possibly asthma.

"We no longer have grave threats to the lives of infants such as diarrhea … and malnutrition," said Dr Matthew Gillman, the study's senior author. "Our problem in the 21st century is chronic disease."

The study conclusions also advices parents to give up the idea that a fat baby is a healthy one and be more careful of their infant's diet.

Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and mammals, is increased to a point where it is thought to be a risk factor for certain health conditions or increased mortality.

In the years from just after the Second World War until 1960 the average person's weight increased, but few were obese. In the two and a half decades since 1980 the growth in the rate of obesity has accelerated markedly and is increasingly becoming a public health concern.