Massive Michelin Baby Stuns Web: What's the Medical Explanation?

The Chinese tot who's been dubbed "Michelin Baby" for his massive girth -- at 10 months, he weighs 44 pounds, as much as the average six-year-old -- is astounding web viewers in photographs ...

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that babies gain around 1-2 pounds per month until six months of age, and a pound a month after that. ...

Lei Lei is undergoing a battery of tests to establish whether there's a medical explanation for his extreme obesity.

... That Darn Thyroid
Problems in the thyroid gland can develop during gestation, setting an infant up for immediate health problems. In Lei Lei's case, congenital deficiency of leptin -- a hormone behind appetite control -- might be causing out-of-control hunger pangs and subsequent overeating.

... BPA Overload
Connecting a few recent news dots offers yet another explanation for Lei Lei's mega mass: bisphenol A, also known as BPA, a potential cancer-causing agent that has been found in an alarming number of places lately, including cash register receipts and canned food items across the United States.

In 2007, health experts sounded the alarm over the presence of BPA in formula containers being sold worldwide, alleging that it triggered -- among other things -- obesity in infants. Much of the BPA is produced in China, especially in southern regions like Lei Lei's home turf of Hunan province. In 2008, Chinese baby formula manufacturers sickened thousands of babies after selling contaminated formula.

And only a few weeks ago, China's health ministry announced plans to investigate allegations that formula sold in Hubei province, just north of Hunan, was triggering extremely premature puberty among Chinese infants. ...

via Massive Michelin Baby Stuns Web: What's the Medical Explanation?.