Chubby may be cute – but is it healthy?
There’s something about a chubby baby that makes the heart melt: Little “bracelets” on the wrists and ankles; and cheeks everyone wants to pinch. Sadly, bigger isn’t necessarily better, says Professor Atul Singhal, Honorary Consultant Paediatrician at theWhittingtonHospitalandGreatOrmondStreetHospital; Deputy Director, MRC Childhood Nutrition Research Centre; and Professor of Paediatric Nutrition at theInstituteofChild Health,London.
“In 20 years of studying nutrition and its impact on the long-term health of children, your baby’s size and the nutrition he or she receives will determine his or her size and health in later years,” Prof Singhal says, citing the 2008 EarlyBird Diabetes study published in the journal Pediatrics, led by Professor Terry Wilkin, of the Peninsula Medical School, Plymouth, UK, after following over 200 children from birth. “This study determined that by the age of five, your child’s propensity for obesity is established.”
With obesity levels in children now a massive health concern globally the medical profession notes with interest that, while breast feeding still ensures the correct rate of weight gain as set out by the World Health Organization, many mothers are not in a position to breastfeed for as long as they may like to, owing to work pressures and other issues.
“In cases where breastfeeding is impossible, mothers must look to milk supplements to ensure their children are getting quality nutrition and not just quantity,” Prof Singhal says. “Not only is nutrition vital for growth rate, it also affects cardiovascular health and the mental development of the child,” he adds, highlighting the fact that both under- and over-nutrition constitute “malnutrition”.
According to Dr Mohamed Iqbal S. Miqdady, Division Head and Senior Consultant atSheikhKhalifaMedicalCity, UAE and Adjunct Staff, Department of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Paediatric Institute, Cleveland Clinic,USA, deficiencies in vitamins A and D; and in zinc, iodine and iron are seen in many toddlers as they learn to eat foods with different tastes and textures.
Dr Miqdady says a zinc deficiency – vital for physical and mental growth, as well as for building immunity – is seen in as many as 45% of South African children. “Iron deficiency is also prevalent in around one third of children globally. Combine this with deficiencies in iodine, vitamin A and vitamin D and you have children whose immune systems don’t easily fight off illness; along with memory problems and often lowered mental capacity.”
Problems with picky eaters
Both Dr Miqdady and Prof Singhal agree that picky eating in toddlers presents another problem for parents trying to ensure good nutrition. “It’s a stage most children go through when they are given new foods,” says Prof Singhal. “They may have issues with new textures and tastes. However, in order to ensure the best possible nutrition, parents have to persevere with ensuring their children get a broad range of foods from different food groups.”
Dr Miqdady concurs: “These children are at higher risk of multiple vitamin and micronutrient deficiencies than non-picky eaters, with around 11% of them growing below expectations.” Then there are the children whose picky eating includes foods that encourage rapid weight gain. “Again, we come back to the propensity for obesity,” Prof Singhal says, “and its attendant problems like possible diabetes and heart disease.”
While not every slight or larger child is malnourished, both doctors suggest that parents of picky eaters visit a paediatrician if they feel their child may not be getting the vitamins and micronutrients he or she needs for optimal growth and a healthier future.
“It’s always best to intervene earlier rather than later,” says Prof Singhal. “Some deficiencies may only be noticed by parents when it’s too late. A medical diagnosis will enable both the paediatrician and the parents to make the necessary dietary changes and give the child his or her best shot at a healthy future. Where supplements are required, they must be used as a safety net rather than a replacement for foods. This way, your child is assured of being properly nourished while experimenting with new foods.”
Sowetan
And you thought you knew everything…
Here, you will find totally needed to know or some-not-so needed to know facts about kids….
Did you know that:
- Babies tears caused by crankiness have a different chemical composition than those caused by eye irritants? One soothes with stress hormones, the other cleanses with a saline solution.
- A fetus develops a sense of touch at eight weeks and fingerprints at three months.
- The peak months for delivering babies are July, August, and September; which means that the sexiest months are November, December, and January.
- Most caucasian babies are born with dark blue eyes, although it normally changes colour after child birth
- Human babies are born 2 months premature for their size and lifespan. This is to accomodate for the fact that we have large brains during birth.
- Babies crawl an average of 200m a day
- Babies are born without knee caps. They don’t appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age
Sucking their thumbs gives cheer to kids
by: Zenoyise Madikwa
THUMB-SUCKING is one of the first coordinated acts a baby can do that brings comfort and pleasure. Pediatricians estimate that about 18percent of children between the ages of two and six years suck their thumbs.
Why do babies suck their thumbs ? Click here for more>>
ViralChoice issues warning on impure babies’ medicine
Syrup not up to scratch
ALL 50ml and 200ml bottles of the children’s cold and flu medicine ViralChoice have been recalled by the manufacturer because of an impurity the manufacturer said yesterday. ViralChoice junior syrup in the 50ml and 200ml packs and the ViralChoice 50ml and 200ml were named in an urgent medicine recall to pharmacists on the grounds that they did not comply with “our strict quality standards”. Click here for more
Women don’t like babies with facial impairments
New research suggests women have a harder time than men looking at babies with facial birth defects. It is a surprise finding. Psychiatrists from the Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital, who were studying perceptions of beauty, had expected women to spend more time than men cooing over pictures of extra-cute babies. Nope.
Random facts about pregnancy
- Only 25% of couples actively trying to conceive will experience pregnancy within the woman’s first cycle. However, 90% of couples will achieve pregnancy within the first 12 months of actively trying.
- Approximately 10% of pregnancies will end in miscarriage. Many miscarriages often occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant.
- About 3% of all pregnant women will give birth to twins. This rate is an increase of nearly 60% since the early 1980s. However, 17% of pregnant women over 45 will give birth to twins.
- Nigeria has the highest twinning rate in the world at around 4.5%. Some experts attribute this number to the large consumption of yams in Nigeria.
- According to a Time Magazine article published in 1945, the longest pregnancy on record is 375 days (as opposed to the usual 280 days). Amazingly, the delivered baby was only 6 pounds, 15 ounces.
- Fewer than 10% of babies are born on their exact due date, 50% are born within one week of the due date, and 90% are born within two weeks of the date.
- Pregnant women at a healthy weight should eat an extra 300 calories per day. This amount is roughly equivalent to a serving of yogurt and half of a bagel.
- While not all pregnant women will crave pickles and ice cream specifically, pregnancy cravings are rooted in the body’s extra need for minerals and comfort-inducing serotonin.
- Despite several rumors to the contrary, microwave ovens do not pose a threat to an unborn fetus.
- During pregnancy, a woman is more likely to experience bleeding gums and nosebleeds due to hormonal changes that increase blood flow to the mouth and nose.
- Milk production and lactation can actually begin as early as the second trimester in some women.d Carrying a baby “high” or “low” is dependent on a woman’s body type and is not a reliable predictor of the baby’s gender.
- Approximately 70% of expectant mothers report experiencing some symptoms of morning sickness during the first trimester of pregnancy.
- Pregnant women usually experience a heightened sense of smell beginning late in the first trimester. Some experts call this the body’s way of protecting a pregnant women from foods that are unsafe for the fetus.
- Many women experience thicker and shinier hair during pregnancy due to hormonal changes and consumption of extra vitamins. New hair volume gained during pregnancy typically begins to fall out after three months post partum.
- While the feet do not actually get longer or wider during pregnancy, most women do gain up to half a shoe size, due to increased fluid volume in the foot.
