United Kingdom: baby boom of “sumo babies”

So many are the fears of pregnant women, the difficulties of pregnancy, illness, disability, the arrival of a premature infant, it happens today that an infant is already overweight and obese.

This condition has been named “sumo baby”, and is, according to Le Sun ⁽¹), attributable to the obesity of the mother. According to Le Sun’s statistics, there is currently a “baby boom” of “sumo babies” in the United Kingdom.

(On Tuesday, June 3, Le Sun newspaper released figures showing a “baby boom” of “sumo babies” in the United Kingdom. An alarming observation)

When infants are born obese

According to the study, one-third of hospitals running maternity wards and therefore births gave birth to already obese infants (over 5.4 kg) last year in the UK. These statistics cover 139 maternity hospitals.

While most infants range in weight from 3.0kg to 3.5kg, these already obese infants are well above average. According to the Huffington Post ⁽²), last June (2013) a mother gave birth to the UK’s biggest baby (who weighed 6.5kg at the time)

Source of postnatal obesity

The “sumo” infant suffering from obesity from birth would be the continuation of his mother’s excess weight, overweight, or even obesity. Overeating and lack of physical activity before and during pregnancy are the main factors in the infant’s condition.

“A beautiful baby” is a term often used by expectant mothers and what they want most of all, a healthy baby who is neither premature nor too small. Few ask for a baby who is “not too big”. Indeed, this is not one of their concerns. And yet obesity is not only a condition but also disease and has consequences for the individual, serious consequences when it comes to an infant.

The birth of sumo babies did not occur in the 21st century at the same time as the Smartphone and the use of social networks. Already in the 20th century, in the 1960s, obese infants had been recorded, but this trend has increased over the years. That’s what the Huffington Post reports, according to Tam Fry (spokesperson for the National Obesity Forum).

Consequences for the infant

If obesity is a disease for an adult person, it is the same for a child. The consequences of being overweight and obese are even more dramatic for an infant than for an adult.

It is a public health problem, a condition from which the infant will suffer and a condition that will lead to both health and physical complications.

As with any obesity, cardiovascular risks will be present, heart disease may occur and the joints will be more sensitive. Joint problems may partially handicap the child: difficulties in moving, walking, running, physical activity, joint pain…

And while 67% of men and 57% of women in the UK are overweight or obese, prevention is the best treatment for this condition. It should also be remembered that in the United Kingdom, 1 in 5 children aged between 10 and 11 years is obese.

Also read: Consequences of morbid obesity

Sources and references

⁽¹⁾http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/woman/health/health/5666718/UK-obesity-epidemic-sparks-rise-in-heavy-sumo-babies.html
⁽²⁾ http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/2014/06/03/obesite-les-bebes-sumos-victimes-du-surpoids-de-leurs-meres-avant-l-accouchement-selon-une-etude-britannique_n_5437719.html?utm_hp_ref=france