Baby Fat: When to Rejoice, When to Worry

Hailey Chung, left, 28 months, of Germantown, Md, exercises using a beach ball in a Family Funfit Class, taught by owner Celia Kibler, right, at Funfit in Rockville, MD on Tuesday, July 25, 2006. (AP Photo/Leslie E. Kossoff) (Leslie E. Kossoff - AP)

"This is a good time for them to consider reducing the number of TVs in their home and watching less themselves," he says.

_ While regular exercise is important for toddlers, infants get their workouts naturally by learning to lift their heads, roll over, sit up and crawl, says Celia Kibler, owner of Funfit, Inc., a Maryland-based fitness center for kids. "A baby at 6 months should have no trouble achieving the muscle tone it needs," says Kibler, whose classes for infants focus on bonding with parents, not working out.

_ In what may be the toughest advice to follow, Holmberg encourages parents to resist the urge to compare their babies with others.

"That's a very dangerous thing to do," he says. "All babies are different."

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For more information:

http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/overweight.cfm

http://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/