The Gleaner
By Judy Jenkins
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Dr. John Jenkins leaned back in his office chair, folded his hands over his stomach and declared, "I've had 100 percent luck in treating older children with obesity."
This would be big news because almost a third of Kentucky kids are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, and finding solutions has been difficult.
The veteran local pediatrician then produced a "Gotcha!" grin and said he has indeed had 100 percent luck -- "all of it bad luck."
But this Webster County native, who heads Methodist Hospital's CATCH program for children who have difficulty accessing health care, does have a theory about preventing obesity from ever developing.
His opinion, based on numerous children over the decades, is that babies who are fed solid foods -- anything other than breast milk or formula -- before the age of six months are more apt to be fat at a year of age and continue to be overweight through childhood and perhaps into adulthood.