Babies born in the Summer Taller and Stronger?

Researchers from Bristol University in England have discovered that babies born in the late summer or early in the fall often grow to be taller and stronger than babies born in spring or winter.

A team of researchers looked at 7000 children and concluded that the reason for the difference in height and strength may be linked to their mothers’ exposure to the sun. 

BBC News reports that the study,  known as the Children of the 90s project, found that by age ten, children born in the summer and fall were on average half a cm taller than children born in the winter months.  The study also found that summer born children had wider and stronger bones.  The summer babies had an average of close to 13 square cm of extra bone area when compared to winter babies.

The body makes vitamin D from sunlight.  Vitamin D is used by the body to build strong and healthy bones.  Researchers suggest that the reason summer babies maybe taller than their peers is because of their mother’s exposure to sunlight and the subsequent increase in their bodies’ vitamin D production.

Professor Jon Tobias, one of the University researchers, told BBC News, "Wider bones are thought to be stronger and less prone to breaking as a result of osteoporosis in later life, so anything that affects early bone development is significant.”

Read more about this story here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7869146.stm

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