Overweight right from birth?
 

I don't know where to post this so if this is the wrong post please move this! Thanks!

I was born early - about 5-6 weeks. Weighing it at only 5 pounds 4 ounces - at the same time my mom almost died so I was fed formula right from the get go, and they force fed me to make me gain weight. I remember my dad once said (while looking at my chubby baby pictures) that they fed me too much for too long!

Anyway, I was bored today and started doing some reading about premmie babies, breast feeding and how it can lead to being over weight later in life.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpag...51C0A9649C8B63

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatri...atrics/tb/6474

http://www.brightsurf.com/news/july_...ews_070803.php

I know you can find articles to back anything up these days but I just found it kinda of interesting. I only knew one other girl growing up who was a premmie (about as early as I was) and she was over weight too... so I always wondered if there was a link. Of course everyone is looking for an 'out' as to why they are overweight - in my case almost my whole family is overweight now, but when I was little both my mom and dad were skinny - my dad hasn't gained a pound since he graduated from high school!

I know I eat too much and don't exercise enough and was never taught the right habbits and that is why I am over weight now, but it just makes me wonder (out of pure curiosity) if this was bound to happen from the day I was born - like it was like more likely happen. I think the only time I ever looked like I was normal weight was around 2-3 - even by age 5 I was the biggest girl in the class.

Anyway I just thought it was an interesting topic to chat about!

I think that this stuff is interesting...but could also be dangerous. I can see people reading this info and blaming issues like this for why they are now overweight and continuing to live an unhealthy lifestyle.
It could be similar to a friend of mine who is 30 years old and still blames so many of her problems on her parents divorce when she was young.
In both cases, it is interesting to study and I would believe that they may have some truth. But I think we also need to accept responsibility for where we are now and decide what we want to do about it.

I hope I'm not sounding mean...I just know that we as humans love to find reasons to blame other people/things and not do anything to make the situation better ourselves.

Beth your not sounding mean but I believe I said in my post my reasons for being over weight

I was just wondering if this helped it or made me more 'prone' to being overweight (it's all just a wonder and interests me more then anything). I am not looking for anything to blame (and hope it doesn't seem like that), just thought it was interesting. Like I said, there are studies these days to back up ANY theory, I could probably find a article linking water to obesity.... well maybe not that extreme! LOL

But I know that people in general look for reasons! Everyone wants an easy way out - I never meant for me to sound like I was (if I did).

I think there's definitely something to that theory. Overfeeding early usually makes for fat adults. Everytime I see a chubby little baby (like I was) I think to myself, 'feed that kid some veggies, right now!!'

But like BethBeth said, (to paraphrase), I don't really care WHY I got here ... I just want to get out of here. :-) I believe that deep, analytical probing can be very useful at certain times, but at other times, action is what's required. If you want to be happy, act like you are happy, catch yourself mentally slapping yourself around and STOP IT and think of something nice to say to yourself (yes, I realize this probably doesn't do it for clinical depression, but could it hurt, really??) And if we want to be healthier, younger looking, slimmer adults, despite how we started out as kids (I was a chubster, too), I GUESS we're just going to have to eat more whole foods, eat less, and get some exercise. DAMN THE LUCK!! :-)

No, it didn't sound like you were blaming. I was talking about "other people" not you. :)

LOL I thought you did, I was just wasn't sure. I was just like ack, I hope they don't think I am trying to blame it on someone else, haha. Really though, if it WAS caused by me being early (and there is NO proof of this) - it's my own fault anyway! I was the one who wanted to see the world sooner! LOL

The only experience I have with premie information was my mom, and she was the opposite -- she was born 7-8 weeks early at 2.9 lbs (TINY) and force-fed up to 5lbs when they let her go home. She was always small for her age group, and topped out as an adult at 5'0" and slender (the only period of time that she was "chubby" was as an active alcoholic, there was a period of about a year that she had a beer gut, but even that went away).

I think the nurturing aspect probably has a lot to do with it... maybe some parents with premature children tend to "baby" them more, feed them more, etc? I don't think it would be necessarily due to just being born earlier than schedule. But who knows, I could be wrong. :)

Knowledge is power. I don't think there is any additional danger in the information, because people do not start taking responsibility for themselves only after they have exhausted all possible excuses. People wanting an excuse, will always find one, and factual information doesn't seem to sway them one way or another.

That being said, fear of change is real, and it has to be addressed, but the fear isn't any different than the fear people experience when considering any significant change in their lives, whether it's giving up smoking, finding a new job, contemplating a big move, leaving an abusive relationship.

I was also a preemie, and an adoptee. I strongly suspect a biological/genetic component to my obesity. I'm the only person in my family to be morbidly obese in childhood. Ironically (or maybe not so much) suspecting a genetic component did not inspire me to gain weight or stop trying to control my weight. Actually, the exact opposite. I realized that the possibility of biological/genetic factors provided a logical explanation as to why I was such a freak; and I wasn't, as so many people in my life had said or implied, a lazy, crazy, idiot. Knowing why weight loss possibly was more difficult, inspired me to be more patient with myself, and yet work that much harder. Knowing that I might have to work twice as hard to get half the results of a "normal" person.

I really think that we overestimate how many overweight people are looking for excuses to stay fat. I think that many people stay overweight because they are trying too hard to be thin. That was very true for me in my younger years, I was so paranoid of my fat that I wanted it off overnight, and was willing to try any hare-brained scheme to get it off. All of the crash-dieting stuff that doesn't work in the long term, because it's impossible to maintain.

I really see it much like the mountains that pioneers often had to cross with the wagon-trains. Often, the "short" way, appeared to be over the mountains, but the safer way was around the mountain. Many chose over the mountain, despite it's dangers because of it's apparent "short-cut," and found out it was actually the longer way (that is, if they survived to regret it).

There still seems to be a popular myth that fat people don't lose weight until they hate themselves enough to change, but I have never found self-loathing to be a positive force in my life. It was only realizing that I was a decent, loveable person of value that I started treating myself that way. Diet and exercise (positive life changes) aren't something we do to punish ourselves for being fat, they're things we do to because we deserve to treat ourselves well.

Sotypical, I can only speak from one extremely narrow perspective, but both my ex mother in law and her son/my ex husband were born premature, and became extremely chubby babies by around 4 or 5 months and for some time after that; they were both slim verging on underweight last time I saw them (naturally thin, despite unhealthy diets and not much exercise).

I do think it's likely that bad dietary habits can be instilled in children, as you say, and I don't think it's surprising that parents who were scared of losing a child might continue to overindulge him/her after being encouraged to 'feed them up' by doctors in order to make them have a greater chance of survival.

You're right to be cynical about what's reported in newspapers, and also about scientific research itself - the 'results' generally depend on who funds the research. I've seen papers 'proving' that fresh fruit and vegetables cause cancer, anything can be proven if a pressure group wants to pay for results and there's a PhD or postdoc looking for funding (I work in a university, I'm cynical :) ) You really just have to listen to what your body's telling you, but don't get hung up on research that's not necessarily motivated by the best intentions.

As a researcher myself, I'd say the real difficulty here is that it sounds like the claim we're trying to understand is a causal one: Being a preemie causes one to be overweight later.

Unfortunately, the only way to really demonstrate a causal claim is through experimentation and control of extraneous variables. That way you could rule out alternative explanations -- maybe the same thing that causes babies to be preemies is the real culprit, or maybe there's something else that causes it.

Of course, no one can do an experiment like that, so we're left with a lot of correlational research, which shows a lot of interesting relationships, but can't address the underlying causality.

I also think it's hard to use our own observations as real data. Yes, there are a lot of preemies who become overweight later. When we see these people, we tend to use them to confirm our beliefs. But there are lots of preemies who are normal weights, AND lots of non-preemies who are overweight, both of which we need to consider too...

Anyway, all this blather to say that there may never be an answer for poor Courtnie's question! But even if there is a causal relationship, I don't think it means you're destined to remain overweight!!!

kaplods - excellent post! wow! What a good way to look at it "Knowing why weight loss possibly was more difficult, inspired me to be more patient with myself, and yet work that much harder. Knowing that I might have to work twice as hard to get half the results of a "normal" person." - thanks!

Heather - I know there will never be an answer, no do I expect one - I just thought it was an interesting theory! And of course it doesn't mean I need to remain over weight!

I think it will be many years before the biochemistry of obesity and weight loss is understood (or the psychology, for that matter).

It's very possible that my "genetics" theory, at least in regard to myself, is complete hogwash. I could meet my bioparents and find out that they are slender as twigs, and obesity does not run in either family. Then I'd have to acknowledge that either my genetics theory is wrong, or I'm a mutant freak.

I don't have to know every singly factor that contributed to my obesity, in order to do something about it. However, I don't have to attribute it to a moral or psychological defect either.

Just to add some confusion to the research...

My first girl was about 6-8 weeks pre-term. She was 4lb. 4oz. and it took 2 weeks to get her up to 4lb 8oz so we could take her home. No other health problems. She wasn't force fed unless the hospital was doing something I didn't know about, just given formula regularly. She doesn't even have the slightest weight problem. Gorgeous body that has caused ME headaches ever since she began developing a body to attract the attention of every pubesent neandrathol within a 20 mile radius of MY BABY.

Second daughter's father is a very big man. 6'5"-290lbs, built like a linebacker and so am I when I'm at my appropriate weight. Born on time. Had to break water to get her moving out. She has always been a "solid" baby as her babysitter would say. Would give out running hugs that literally knocked me over. Now at 14 she is a "big 'ol girl". Yes, she's is overweight, but even if she lost weight she will never be a "skinny B****". It's just not her body type. Mine either. But she can still have a knock out figure without losing weight so much as tightening up.

I only have my personal experience to base it on, but the research just doesn't fit our reality. Take it for what it's worth.

I've never heard that one. Myth for sure - it's the opposite that's more true. People lose weight when they love themselves enough to change.


I'd say it was more detailed than that and had to do more with early force-feeding as a result of being a preemie causing metabolic issues later in life.

So if anything, rather than an excuse for being fat, it's information on what not to do should you have a preemie or low birthweight baby.