Your weight has been important since the moment you were born.
Maybe you even know what your birth weight was. Most babies
weigh less than 10 pounds and sometimes as little as 3 or 4
pounds. But very quickly, a young baby gains weight and everyone
is glad about that because it means the child is growing bigger
and stronger. As you get older, your weight is still important.
It's something your parents and doctor will probably keep an eye
on. When you go for a checkup, the doctor often will record your
height and weight and compare it with what it was the last time
you came in. The doctor wants to check that you are a healthy
weight because weighing too much — or too little — can be a
problem. But these days, being overweight is more common than
being underweight. In the last 30 years, a growing number of
kids and teenagers have developed weight problems. Today, 1 out
of 3 kids and teens between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight,
or obese (a word that means very overweight). Many grown-ups
understand what it'