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Fat Babies Are Happier

From: C-reuters@clari.net (Reuters)
Subject: Fatter babies live happier ever after
Organization: Copyright 1997 by Reuters
Date: Thu, 3 Jul 1997 9:21:35 PDT

``The heavier the baby the fewer the depressive episodes,'' Ian Rodie told the annual conference of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England.

The findings are the result of a follow-up study on men and women born between 1911 and 1930 in the county of Hertfordshire, north of London.

Health visitors recorded the weight of every baby in the county at birth and at their first birthday.

After questioning 882 people in their sixties and seventies, Rodie said he found that the heavier they had been at birth the less likely they were to suffer from depression later in life.

The findings were particularly poignant in plump baby boys who were markedly more resistant to the blues as adults than their skinny brothers.

``There is no doubt that depressive disorder is associated with low birthweight in men,'' Rodie said.

Factors during pregnancy and the first year of the baby's life were crucial in terms of changes in brain chemistry and hormonal responses, Rodie said.

``It is likely that the weight of the baby in the womb could affect the development of hormones which could predispose you to depression as an adult.''

On the other hand, other research has shown that the fatter the baby the more likely it is to suffer later from heart disease and raised levels of cholesterol. [Ed. - Not sure whether this is true only of bottle-fed babies.]