Feb. 25, 2013 New research from the Children of the 90s study at
the University of Bristol shows that most babies who are slow to
put on weight in the first nine months of life have caught up to
within the normal range by the age of 13, but remain lighter and
shorter than many of their peers. There are significant
differences in the pattern of 'catch-up', depending on the
infant's age when the slow weight gain occurs. The findings,
published February 25 in the journal Pediatrics, are based on
data from 11,499 participants in Children of the 90s, and
provide the most conclusive and reassuring evidence for parents
to date that, with the right care, many infants who fail to put
on weight quickly in the first nine months of life will catch up
over time. The study found that, of the 11,499 infants born at
term, 507 were slow to put on weight before the age of eight
weeks ('early group') and 480 were slow to gain weight between
eight weeks and nine months ('late group'). Thirty children were
common to both groups.