Experts: Parents can influence obesity remarkably early in life

Parents are contributing to the obesity epidemic, according to researchers at Harvard, and it starts early in life.

The Harvard study found that infants who gained quickly and weighed more at 6 months of age were more likely to be overweight at age 3.

Researchers at Rutgers also found that the way parents feed their infants plays a part in their weight. Nearly 100 mother/child pairs were watched and questioned, and those who fed their babies more often and didn't read their babies' cues well had babies who weighed more.

(Not reading the babies' cues well included not noticing when the infant turned away from the bottle and continuing to feed the baby even when the baby seemed to be done.) The experts suggest that parents feed their infants away from TV and other distractions so that they can focus on the baby.

Meanwhile, another Harvard study found that day care and child care situations are remarkably free from nutrition and physical activity requirements. But many say that waiting until elementary school is too late, as 1 in 5 four-year-olds are found to be overweight. And since 3/4 of children between the ages of 2-5 spend time in a child care setting and half in formal day care, it means that these settings need to be focused upon.

Harvard researcher Sara Benjamin compiled a top-20 list of nutrition and physical activity regulations that health specialists call key. They include:

_At least 60 minutes of structured physical activity and 60 more minutes of active free play.

_Not letting children sit for more than 30 minutes at a stretch.

_Only 1 percent or fat-free milk for kids 2 and older.

_No more than 6 ounces of 100 percent juice a day.

_No sugar-sweetened beverages.

As of last January, Benjamin found Idaho and Louisiana with the fewest such requirements and Delaware, Georgia, Alaska and Nevada with the most.

In other words, both parents and child care providers need to pay attention - and early in life, not later on when the damage may already be done.