Do we have to worry now, or can we wait a bit?
It is certainly possible that your son is just in a slow patch of his growth and development and that he will sprout up at some point and drop to a normal weight for his height. You really cannot presume, however, that this will happen. Thus, you should act now if your son is overweight or obese.
A lot of work has been done on fat cells, and how they grow, develop, multiply, and turnover is very important in weight and obesity. Although the work is somewhat controversial and contradictory, the evidence on fat cells supports the notion that obesity as a child produces weight problems in later life.
More fat cells are created in children who are obese than in those who are slim. Thus, a child who is fat will have more fat cells throughout life and will have more trouble maintaining a healthy weight. The message is this: Don’t let your child become fat because he or she is more likely to remain heavy throughout his or her life.
Data suggest that only 10% of normal-weight kids become obese or overweight adults, whereas about 75% of fat children become or remain fat as adults.
Being heavy can produce some physical problems that may disappear or lessen if your child’s weight becomes normal. Thus, it is not a good idea to wait to see whether your heavy child has a growth spurt and drops to a healthy weight. Instead, get his or her weight down to a good level now.