Report: Big babies at risk for obesity

WASHINGTON, June 24 (UPI) -- Big babies are not necessarily healthy babies and are at risk of becoming overweight children and obese adults, health experts warn.

A report issued by the National Academy of Sciences urged parents, doctors and other caregivers to take action to help prevent infants and young children from getting fat, The Washington Post reported Friday.

"A lot of conventional thinking has been that a big baby is a healthy baby," said Leann Birch, director of the Center for Childhood Obesity Research at Pennsylvania State University.

"What's happened over the past decade or so is that the evidence has been building that early overweight or early rapid weight gain places kids at risk for later obesity," said Birch, who headed the panel that issued the report.

The report found that about 10 percent of U.S. children between infancy and age 2 are overweight.

The report by the Academy's Institute of Medicine recommends limiting how much time children spend in front of the television, watching videos and using other electronic gadgets, making sure they get enough exercise and sleep, and ensuring they eat the right foods.