I wanna get paid big money to do
innocuous studies like this one...
innocuous studies like this one...
If you're one of those who always wondered why they were
short-changed in the height department, scientists may have the answer. People born in summer or autumn tend to be taller and heavier than peers with birthdays in spring or winter, a study has found.
After analyzing (or is it anal-ising?) the relationship between birth month and height, researchers in China claim a key factor is Vitamin D, which aids bone growth and is created by our bodies after exposure to sunshine.
The scientists said it was important 'in the late fetal period and after the birth of the infant'.
A mother who enters the third trimester – from week 27 – in the spring or summer would therefore naturally receive more exposure to sunlight, and her baby, born three months later, would also see the effect of longer and sunnier days and 'have a significantly lower risk of short stature'.
The researchers in Hunan province looked at 462 children of both genders aged from two to 14. They compared the birth dates of those classified as being of 'short stature' and found almost 40 per cent had low levels of Vitamin D.
The tallest and heaviest were born in June, July or August, followed by those in the autumn months of September, October and November. The experts said the amount of Vitamin D passed on in breast milk was 'relatively low' and did 'not fully meet the growth and developmental needs of the child'. They added: 'We recommend that pregnant mothers and postnatal infants take adequate intensity and sufficient hours of sunlight.'
I was born in July and and am 4 inches shorter than my December born brother
ReplyDeleteI should think that DNA would be the over bearing factor regarding height, weight, etc.....But WTF do I know....
ReplyDelete