She said it could be a characteristic of the families that choose this.

If Your Child's Arches Disappear Health Tip. Sign Up for MedicineNet Newsletters. Latest Healthy Kids News Health Tip. Baby Diapering 101 Diet Restrictions Provide No Help for Autism Babies Can Comprehend 'Canine' Language Obesity Holds Steady for Poor Preschoolers Want More News. "An infant who was in child care in someone else's home in the first six months of life was 5 or so percentage points higher [on growth charts] at 1 or 3 years old than an infant who started at the same point but was cared for at home by another provider or at a center," said study author Lenora Benjamin, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of population medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Harvard researchers report in the August issue of Pediatrics that babies aged 6 months and younger who were cared for in someone else's home, rather than in their own home or at a day-care center, were more likely to weigh more in relation to their height at the ages of 1 and 3.

Benjamin said it's not clear why this type of care may lead to heavier children.