Help your kid stay in the healthy weight range during their first five years of life to optimise their chances of not becoming overweight or obese as they grow up. — dpa
The first five years of a child’s life are crucial when it comes to preventing obesity in the future, according to researchers.
Experts in the Netherlands found that body mass index (BMI) at age six is a better predictor of obesity in later life than at other points of childhood.
They suggest the first years of life are a “fantastic opportunity to intervene” and give youngsters a “chance at a happy, healthy” future.
The researchers used data from an ongoing study known as Generation R to track the BMI of thousands of children in the Netherlands at ages two, six, 10, 14 and 18.
Of the 3,528 youngsters, some 32.3% were considered overweight or obese at age two, 22.3% at age six, 24.7% at age 10, and 20.6% at age 14.
Many of these children were still classed as overweight or obese at age 18.
The researchers found every one unit increase in BMI at age six more than doubled a child’s odds of being overweight or obese at 18.
They also suggest that if a child with a higher BMI reached a healthy weight by the age of six, they were no longer at risk.
Presenting the findings at the European Congress on Obesity held in Malaga, Spain, on May 11-14 (2025), Erasmus MC PhD candidate and medical student Jasmin de Groot said: “We need to understand how children grow and develop if we are to help future generations grow up healthier and give every child a chance at a happy, healthy life.
“Our research assists with this by showing that a child with overweight or obesity isn’t destined to live with overweight or obesity as a young adult, and that the first five years of a child’s life provide a fantastic opportunity to intervene and prevent them experiencing overweight and obesity in the years to come.” – PA Media/dpa
