We’ve been reading about the risks associated with childhood obesity. Michele Obama’s efforts to tackle the problem have focused attention school age kids but efforts to combat childhood obesity may need to start earlier. Some recent research suggests that events early in life or during pregnancy can set the stage for later obesity. Currently 10% of children under age 2 are overweight.

Mothers who smoke during pregnancy typically give birth to small babies yet these infants are more likely to become obese later. It’s not clear if this is related to socioeconomic status (both smoking and being overweight are more common among poor and less well educated folks) or if there is an underlying physiological cause. Also, lack of sleep is associated with obesity in kids and adults (more about that in a future post), but the same may be true for babies. The risk for later obesity is greater when a baby sleeps less than 12 hours. Early experiences can also be protective. For example, breast-feeding lowers the risk of later obesity. If future research can identify the risks during pregnancy and the first months of life it may be possible to prevent obesity in childhood and later life.