An overweight baby is a baby who gains weight far out of proportion to his growth in height. An overweight baby looks fat. Fat babies are not necessarily healthy babies. The infants who continue to be overweight as children and adults usually have parents, siblings, or grandparents who are overweight. Any infant in a family with a strong tendency toward obesity needs help.
Some physicians wait to make changes in the diet until the child shows signs of being overweight.
However, prevention is easier than treatment. From the beginning, try to teach your child to stop eating before she feels completely full. Overfeeding teaches a child to overeat. Try to breast-feed. Breast-fed babies tend to be lighter in weight.