THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, September 14, 1996 TAG: 9609140270
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LINDA MCCARTY, THE WINCHESTER STAR
DATELINE: WINCHESTER LENGTH: 68 lines
Joseph Michael Snyder's prospective baby-sitters have to pull their weight, and Joseph's, too. Joseph, who won't turn 2 until Sunday, weighs 65 pounds and stands 37 inches tall.
``I can't leave him with just anyone because a lot of people can't lift him and change his diaper,'' said Joseph's mother, Amanda Snyder.
An average 2-year-old is about 28 pounds and 34 inches tall, said the boy's pediatrician who says Joseph is in fine health and intelligent to boot.
Snyder said she is amazed at the boy's size and confused about how to put such a young child on a diet.
``He doesn't eat junk food,'' she said. ``I try to watch what he eats. He has a big appetite. The first thing he says in the morning when he wakes up is `bite.' ''
The pediatrician, Dr. Scott Cannon of Winchester, as well as physicians at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, say Joseph is fit.
``I believe that his genes are telling him to be very tall and big,'' Cannon said. ``He's healthy and bright, but he does need to lose weight. He's too big for his age. He's the biggest one I've had at this age.''
Amanda Snyder, 19, is about 5 feet 8 inches tall - about average height. But Joseph's father, Brian McKay, 21, stands 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighs about 300 pounds.
``The doctor (who) saw Joseph in Charlottesville . . . was impressed by Joseph's intelligence. He told us that he was above his age for intelligence,'' Amanda Snyder said.
Although Joseph's heft isn't likely to put excessive stress on his organs now, it will later, Cannon said. ``The biggest (health) problems for overweight children are breathing and agility.'' Joseph easily loses his balance and has had a bout or two of asthma, his mother said.
Joseph was of normal size at birth - 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and 21 inches. According to Cannon's records, the boy weighed 25 pounds, 8 ounces at six months, and was 33 inches tall and weighed 39 pounds at his first birthday. In July, at 22 months, Joseph had grown to 36 inches and weighed 61 pounds. Now, his mother said, he's added another inch and about four more pounds.
Cannon's statistics show a 6-month-old child averages 27 inches and 17 pounds, 8 ounces, and 1-year-olds are 30 inches and 22 pounds, 8 ounces.
Most babies lose weight right after they are born, but Joseph never did, Amanda Snyder said. ``He just kept gaining,'' she said.
Joseph's voracious appetite became apparent shortly after birth. ``By the time he was two weeks old, I couldn't feed him fast enough,'' Amanda Snyder said. ``I had to cut slits in the nipples of the bottles so the formula would come out faster. He couldn't get enough milk fast enough with the regular holes in the nipples.''
Both Cannon and the University of Virginia physicians have suggested that Snyder consult a nutritionist to help her plan Joseph's menus to decrease his weight.
``He loves pizza and can eat two pieces,'' Amanda Snyder said. ``He also loves peas and rice and gravy.''
McKay and Snyder now have a second son, Joshua Allen, who turned 5 months old on Aug. 27. Joshua weighed 8 pounds when he was born and was 22 inches long. Now he weighs 18 pounds and is 27 inches tall.
``I'm kind of wondering,'' Snyder said, ``if Joshua's going to be big too.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Amanda Synder, 19, says her son, Joseph, ``has a big appetite.''
When he wakes up each morning, she said, ``the first thing he says .
. . is `bite.' ''
KEYWORDS: OBESITY by CNB