When Maci Mugele uploaded a short clip of her baby boy to TikTok last summer, viewers were astonished.
At just four months old, little Gunner weighed more than 22lbs, measured two-and-a-half feet and was already wearing clothes designed for toddlers.
While some of the comments gushed over his ‘chunky cheeks’ and ‘cute features’, others accused his mother of ‘child abuse’, claiming she must be overfeeding him.
Maci, from Chandler, Oklahoma in the US, insisted she was simply feeding her son when he was hungry, adding that doctors had repeatedly reassured her he was perfectly healthy.
But while the debate around babies such as Gunner regularly go viral on social media, experts say they are part of a far more concerning trend.
Women in the UK and around the world are increasingly giving birth to so-called ‘giant babies’ – and rising birth weights may not only reflect worsening maternal health but could also have lasting consequences for the children themselves.
Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health have reported that people with a higher birth weight appeared to face an increased risk of developing bowel cancer before the age of 50. The findings add to mounting evidence linking unusually high birth weights with a greater likelihood of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease later in life.
Experts believe it is not a baby’s size itself that drives these risks. Rather, birth weight is thought to be a marker of the environment the baby was exposed to in the womb, which may programme long-term changes in how the body’s cells and metabolism function.
When Maci Mugele uploaded a short clip of her baby boy last summer, viewers were astonished. At just four months old, Gunner weighed more than 22lbs
Dr Kathryn Dalrymple, lecturer in nutritional sciences at King’s College London, says: ‘Birth weight serves as a proxy for the intra-uterine environment. Everything that happens during pregnancy and in the months leading up to conception is going to have an impact on the development of that foetus.’
High birth weight, known as foetal macrosomia, refers to newborns weighing 8lbs 13oz (4kg) or more. Around one in ten babies in the UK now falls into this category, and studies suggest babies have become heavier over the past 30 years. This has largely been due to maternal obesity and gestational diabetes – a condition in which the body’s blood sugar levels become too high during pregnancy, affecting around one in 20 women in the UK.
It develops when the body cannot produce enough insulin to meet the demands of pregnancy, causing excess glucose to cross the placenta. In response, the foetus produces more insulin of its own, which acts as a growth hormone, encouraging rapid growth and fat storage in the womb.
The condition is more common in women who are overweight.
Women who are obese before pregnancy are around three to five times more likely to develop it than women of a healthy weight.
Dr Dalrymple explains: ‘If gestational diabetes is poorly managed, too much glucose crosses the placenta, affecting the baby’s development. This can contribute to macrosomia and expose the baby to higher levels of growth hormones, which may increase their risk of obesity later in life.’
And babies don’t have to be born unusually large for this accelerated growth to become apparent. Some start life at an entirely average weight, before rapidly shooting up the growth charts.
When Axyl was born last year he weighed 7lbs 4oz, but in just six weeks he had almost doubled in size, weighing 13lbs 6oz
Now eight months old, Axyl has already outgrown toddler clothes and wears outfits designed for children as old as five
That was the case for Jessica High, 34, from North Carolina. When her son Axyl was born last year he weighed 7lb 4oz, but in just six weeks he had almost doubled in size, weighing 13lb 6oz.
By six months he tipped the scales at an astonishing 33lb 7oz.
Now eight months old, Axyl has already outgrown toddler clothes and wears outfits designed for children as old as five.
Like Gunner’s mother, Jessica has also had to contend with online speculation that she must be overfeeding her son. But she says Axyl is closely monitored by a paediatrician, who has reassured the family that he is healthy.
Dr Dalrymple explains that macrosomia is largely preventable. She says: ‘The most effective ways to reduce the risk of macrosomia are maintaining a healthy weight before pregnancy and managing gestational diabetes if it develops.
‘Being active before and during pregnancy is really important, even if it’s simply going for walks.
‘And if you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, it’s vital to follow your clinician’s advice so it is managed appropriately.’
Experts stress that being born larger than average does not mean a child will go on to develop health problems, and many babies with macrosomia grow up healthy.
