Using Infant Growth Charts to Predict Later Obesity

Studies suggest that excess weight as early as in infancy is related to later obesity and health problems. But what practical tool can pediatricians use in young children to predict future obesity? Researchers in Boston examined the association between weight and length measurements from more than 44,000 children younger than 2 years and follow-up body-mass index (BMI) measurements at ages 5 years (39,000 children) and 10 years (22,000 children).

Children whose weight-for-length percentile on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth charts rose by two or more major percentiles (5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentiles) during the first 2 years of life had elevated odds of obesity (BMI ≥95th percentile for age) at age …