But massive fatness or a marked increase in fatness is not. Some children get fatter than nature intended them to be. Kenny's story illustrates that restricting food intake can make children gain too much weight. At the other extreme, Satter has seen some children get too fat when they are overfed. However, she emphasizes, this is unusual.
Children ordinarily resist overeating.
If they are overfed, they won't get hungry as soon or won't eat as much the next feeding. She also sees children getting too fat because of stress. Studies show stress on children has increased enormously. When children are under stress, they don't talk about it. They act out their feelings by being defiant or wetting the bed or refusing to go to school.