A Third of 9-Month-Olds Already Obese or Overweight The path
toward obesity starts at a young age — even before babies
transition to a solid diet, according to a new study. Almost
one-third of 9-month-olds are obese or overweight, as are 34
percent of 2-year-olds, according to the research, which looked
at a nationally representative sample of children born in 2001.
The study is one of the first to measure weight in the same
group of very young children over time, said lead researcher
Brian Moss, a sociologist at Wayne State University in Detroit.
The results showed that starting out heavy puts kids on a
trajectory to stay that way. "If you were overweight at nine
months old, it really kind of sets the stage for you to remain
overweight at two years," Moss told LiveScience. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), childhood
obesity has tripled over the last three decades. In 2008, 19.6
percent of kids between the ages of 6 and 11 were obese. But
less is known about obesity rates in v