Q: My baby is jumping up in weight percentiles. Is this a risk for future obesity?

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Question: My baby, who is almost a year old, was born preterm and started under the 1st percentile for weight. Since starting solid foods, he has been jumping up the growth charts and is now at the 95th percentile for weight and 60th for height. I've been feeding him a balanced diet with healthy fats, proteins, and carbs. However, I've read some studies suggesting that rapidly increasing weight percentiles in infancy can be a risk factor for future obesity. I'm now worried that I might be contributing to potential health problems down the road. Should I be concerned about this rapid 'catch-up' growth?

Answer: This sounds like classic catch-up growth, which is super common and expected for a baby who started at a very low percentile. The studies about jumping percentiles being a risk factor are often looking at full-term babies who started at a more average weight, so they don't always apply to preemies or low birth weight babies who have to work their way up the chart.

Your baby's diet sounds fantastic. The key thing is whether your pediatrician is concerned. They are tracking the growth curve and can tell the difference between healthy catch-up growth and something to worry about.

Besides, adult obesity is complex and caused by many factors beyond what happens in the first year. Trying to restrict a healthy, growing baby now for a problem that might not even exist 20 years from now doesn't make much sense. Obesity treatments and prevention will probably be completely different by the time he's an adult anyway.

For extra peace of mind and clear guidance when tracking your child's symptoms, the FeverCoach app is always there to help.

https://fevercoach.us