Do fat babies stay fat?

A total of 203 children included in a study of feeding practices and weight in infancy were reviewed four to five years later. Although in infancy 28 (14%) of the children were obese and a further 52 (26%) overweight, in childhood most were of normal weight and fatness, with only 5 (2-5%) obese and 22 (11%) overweight, Three of the five obese children were also obese as infants, but only one in nine obese infants was obese at 5 years. Weight in infancy does not necessarily indicate later body size. Tall stature of the children was probably related to their socioeconomic environment.