Small at birth means smaller adults

Being small at birth may mean a greater likelihood of staying small as an adult, at least as far as height is concerned, according to a recent research. In this study, researchers tried to determine how birth size and early growth affected later height gain. Researchers at the University of Hong Kong analysed data from a longitudinal growth study of 3,650 full-term healthy children who were born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1973-1975. This analysis included 2,738 children with height and weight measurements available both in early life and during adolescence. Among these Swedish children born in the 1970s, those who were relatively small at birth attained less height during puberty and adolescence. Similarly, children who rapidly put on pounds and inches during infancy and early childhood had less of a height gain between the ages of 8 and 18. In the study, shorter length and lower body mass index (BMI) at birth were associated with earlier puberty and less height gain during adolescence. In contrast, larger birth size was tied to later puberty. And children who went through their pubertal growth spurt later tended to put on more height by the age of 18. According to the researchers, a one-year delay in this growth spurt was associated with a 1.75 centimetre-greater gain in adolescent height among boys. The finding was similar for girls. They found that children with faster linear growth and greater BMI in infancy and childhood had less height gain between ages 8 and 18. However, greater height and BMI at birth were associated with more height gain between ages 8 and 18 after adjusting for height and BMI in childhood. It can be concluded that both length and BMI (at birth, in infancy and during childhood) are associated with the timing and magnitude of pubertal growth. Being small at birth is associated with early puberty and a reduced height gain during adolescence.

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