It’s seems like everywhere you turn these days, someone is talking about “the childhood obesity epidemic“. I’ve read and/or heard about many causes for the problem lately: junk food, junk food commercials, video games, television, and so on.
I’m sure all of these things contribute to the problem. But the truth is, childhood obesity starts at your baby’s first trip to the pediatrician. Babies, especially breastfed babies, lose weight at first. If your baby loses what they perceive as too much weight, they try to force the formula on you right away. I fed on demand and knew my facts - fortunately, by the second visit my daughter was gaining weight. So there was no more talk of formula. But at around six months (when the baby’s genetic metabolism kicks in) my daughter’s weight gain was no longer considered enough. We had to come back for a weight check after introducing her to baby food.
We were quizzed about what she ate - she nursed four times a day and ate three jars of baby food. She was happy and meeting all of her developmental milestones. But they told us that she was still too skinny and that we weren’t feeding her enough. After explaining that she really didin’t want any more food, we were told to add formula to her baby food. So we did.
At the next appointment, she still hadn’t gained enough weight. They office staff quizzed us like they thought we were starving her. They referred us to a nutritionist at Children’s Mercy. I was a wreck - I researched failure to thrive (which didn’t fit, since her height and head size were fine), various diseases (which also didn’t fit, as she was happy and developmentally at or ahead of milestones), you name it. Nothing fit.
The nutritionist listened to us and assured that we were not harming our child. She was not concerned about our skinny kid. But she did let us know that baby food was less caloric, less nutritious and less tasty than real food. She suggested that maybe Zoe would eat more if we stopped feeding her regurgitated peas mixed with formula. We gave it a shot. Zoe loved real food. But she still didn’t gain enough weight to suit the pediatricians. They suggested junk food (no, I am NOT kidding). We tried it - we were still such new parents.
But she still didn’t gain “enough”. And that’s when I realized it was the pediatricians who had a problem, not my kid (yeah, I know, it took me long enough.). My daughter is blessed with a great metabolism. That gene skipped me, unfortunately. Anyway, when my son came along, I was ready. But he LOVED to eat. We skipped baby food entirely and he’s always been a hearty eater. Yet the pediatricians still tell me that he’s awfully skinny for his height.
The babies they consider “appropriate” have rolls of chub hanging over their shoes and tummies bigger than their heads. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it shouldn’t be the baby ideal. Those giant babies are no more normal than my super skinny daughter. But so many breastfeeding women are told that they’re not making enough milk and are pushed to use formula to make their babies fatter. We’re told to feed skinny babies junk food, to supplement breast milk with formula, to make our babies eat, eat, eat - never mind their inherent ability to know when their full. And then we wonder why we’ve got fat kids?
Mothers brag about how much their babies weigh. But I’ve never heard a first grader’s mother bragging about how she had to buy size 10 clothes for her six year old. But who inspires the new mother to brag? The pediatrician. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I feel validated when doctors approve of my children’s health and well-being. And I know I’m not the only one.
So let’s talk about where the obesity epidemic REALLY starts. Your pediatrician’s office.
parenting
childhood obesity
