Obesity prevention should begin at age 2

NORFOLK, Va., Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Obesity prevention efforts should begin as early as age 2, when children reach a "tipping point," U.S. researchers said.

Dr. John W. Harrington, a pediatrician at Virginia's Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, examined records of 111 overweight children from a suburban pediatric practice. All of the children had their height and weight measured at least five times during pediatric visits. The average age was 12.

Children whose body mass index exceeded that of 85 percent of the general population were classified as overweight. Researchers charted the recorded body mass index of the children from infancy. They found that the obese children had started gaining weight in infancy at an average rate of .08 excess BMI units per month. On average, they began this progression at three months of age.

"This study suggests that doctors may want to start reviewing the diet of children during early well-child visits," Harrington said in a statement. "By the time they reach 8 years old, they're already far into the overweight category, making treatment more difficult."