However cute they may be, fat babies are likely to develop motor skills slower than their thinner counterparts, says a study just published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The findings are based on observations of 217 African-American first-time mothers who participated in the Infant Care, Feeding and Risk of Obesity Study. The project is examining – in a population at risk of obesity – how parenting and infant feeding styles relate to infant diet and the risk of babies becoming overweight.

The mothers ranged in age from 18 to 35 and their babies were 3 months old. Researchers visited the mothers and infants in their homes between 2003 and 2007. They weighed and measured the children at each visit, and also assessed their motor skills at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 18 months.

The researchers found that overweight infants were about twice as likely (1.8 times) as non-overweight infants to have a low score on the Psychomotor Development Index test, reflecting delayed motor development. Infants with high subcutaneous fat (rolls of fat under their skin) were more than twice as likely (2.32 times) as babies without fat rolls to have a low score.

“This is concerning because children with motor skill delays may be less physically active and thus less likely to explore the environment beyond arm’s reach,” said Meghan Slining, a nutrition doctoral student at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and lead author of the study.

“There are a number of studies that show that weight status during the infancy and toddler years can set young children on an obesity trajectory that may be hard to change,” Slining said. “Our study shows that there are actually immediate consequences as well.”


Citation: Slining et al., 'Infant Overweight Is Associated with Delayed Motor Development', The Journal of Pediatrics, March 2010; doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.12.054