My son weighed 7.0 lbs at birth, which was an average size. He was (and still is) a good eater who grew very quickly. At his 4 month checkup, he weighed over 16 pounds and was in the 95th percentile for both height and weight. I never worried about his size because he was a breastfed baby who just happened to grow early. Our pediatrician never worried either. "Some kids grow quickly right away and then level off, while others hit a growth spurt later on. Every child is different," she told me. That's why I was shocked to hear a story from Colorado, where a 4-month old was denied insurance coverage because he was considered "obese". Rocky Mountain Health Plans determined that Alex Lange (who weighed 17 pounds at 4 months) had a pre-existing condition (obesity) which made him a high risk patient. Alex's parents were looking for a new insurance company when their current plan raised their rates by 40 percent. Alex was in the 99th percentile for both height and weight, but his parents were told insurance companies don't take babies over the 95th percentile. So they denied him coverage. It's not like Alex is eating M&M's all day and that's how he gained weight. He's probably not very mobile yet, so he's not burning tons of calories. His primary job is to eat, sleep and grow at 4-months old. To me, it's wrong to label this baby as "obese". Last week Rocky Mountain Health Plans made a change to their policy so that obesity is no longer a pre-existing condition for infants. They agreed that denying Alex Lange coverage was a flaw in the system that should be corrected. Alex Lange is now elligible for coverage through their company. This case does lead to some interesting questions. Many people expect a young baby to have chubby cheeks and rolls on their arms and legs. That's often a sign of a "healthy" baby. But at what point does the baby fat become a concern? At one year old? Two years old? Older? I don't think Alex Lange's parents have any reason to worry at this point, just like I'm not worried about my son. But at what point should a parent start to worry? What do you think? |
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