At 11:07 PM 6/2/97 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm curious if anyone knows any studies or
>anecdotal evidence that some/many? preemie babies
>go on to become fat children and fat adults.
>
>I'm wondering because talk of genetics makes
>me think about my own history. I was a preemie,
>and I weighed 3 lbs, 5 oz. at birth. I was born in
>1956, and was in an incubator for at least a
>month. I'm sure I was given all kinds of rich
>and "fattening" formulas and whatever else
>they do to make a baby gain weight.
(snippage)
>Vickie

Vickie,
I was a preemie -- 4 lbs, 5 oz., about 1 month early -- and was underweight
until they started me on soy formula, at which point I turned into a
'butterball', according to my Mom.  I wasn't a chubby baby, just a normally
plump one.  And I was within 'normal' weight parameters throughout
childhood/teen years (135 constant weight throughout high school and
college, at 5'6").  However, I do have more allergies than my siblings, who
were breast-fed (they may, at most, have mild milk allergies, but not
nearly to the extent that I do -- I'm allergic to wheat, corn, beans, milk,
and lots of other stuff).  I believe I've read that allergies are more
prevalent in preemies, since they are generally not breast-fed (I was
allergic to my mom's milk).  And if obesity is one result of improper
digestion of food, then it's likely that preemies -- with more allergies --
are also more prone to obesity.

Corbie

(For background: my middle sister (I'm the oldest) is getting a bit chubby,
now that she has a desk job and no time to exercize (the post-college
curse), but is nowhere near the 196 lbs that I had reached by the time I
found Atkins and started losing weight.  My youngest sister is skinny as a
rail -- possibly underweight -- at 105 lbs, 5'6".  She isn't anorexic; she
just got the lucky roll of the dice when it came to genes.  My Mom is a
little plump, but that side of the family doesn't have any really fat
people.  My Dad and one of his brothers tend toward the heavy side; my Dad
lost about 50 lbs on Atkins after he saw my success, and is mostly keeping
it off, despite the occasional 'cheat'.  I haven't seen my uncle Buzz
lately but I'm told he is about 100 lbs overweight.  They probably take
after grandma.  Dad's two other brothers were/are rather thin, like their
dad.  So the genetic bag is a bit 'mixed.')
http://www.radix.net/~lindo
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I am *NOT* a rabid feminist!  I had my shots last year.