First 6 years of a child’s life key to preventing obesity in adulthood, study suggests
If child with a high BMI reaches a healthy weight by the age of six, they are no longer at risk of becoming obese later in life, study finds
The first years of a child’s life are crucial when it comes to preventing obesity in later years, according to researchers.
Experts in the Netherlands found body mass index (BMI) at age six is a better predictor of obesity in later life than at other points in childhood.
They suggest the first years of life are a “fantastic opportunity to intervene” and give youngsters a “chance at a happy, healthy” future.
Researchers used data from an ongoing study known as Generation R to track the BMI of thousands of children in the Netherlands at age two, six, 10, 14, and 18.
Of the 3,528 youngsters, some 32.3 per cent were considered overweight or obese at age two, with 22.3 per cent obese at age six, 24.7 per cent at age 10, and 20.6 per cent at age 14.
Many of these children were still classed as overweight or obese at age 18.