Summer-born kids likely to be taller and healthier

Like flowers in the sun, babies who are born in the summer months are more likely to become strong, healthy adults, according to a new study that investigates the potential effect maternal vitamin D exposure during pregnancy has on offspring.

At the end of the experiment, researchers have noticed that children who are born during the summer months have better health. A new study says yes.

As early developers are thought to have an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, the scientists concluded that being born in the summer may reduce your chance of developing such diseases later in life.

The study found no link between month of birth and body mass index (BMI). For those of us on the other side of the world, the associations are the opposite.

The article used a large, standardized population and divided it both by birth season (e.g., March, April and May = “Spring”) and by birth month.

“Our results show that birth month has a measurable effect on development and health, but more work is needed to understand the mechanisms behind this effect”, said lead author of the study John Perry from the University of Cambridge. Their birth weight was a little heavier, they were taller adults, and started puberty a bit later.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge recently studied the growth patterns and physical development of approximately 450,000 men and women in the United Kingdom in an attempt to determine if the season of a person’s birth date plays a role in the individual’s health as an adult. This effect, called programming, has consequences for development throughout childhood and into adulthood.

These associations were seen with total hours of sunshine during the second trimester but not during the first 3 months after birth, and there were further associations regarding educational attainment.

“This is the first time puberty timing has been robustly linked to seasonality”.

Summer-born children grow up to be taller than most children, whereas women get to the puberty age much later than most women. Wild outliers in birth weight and age of puberty were excluded (assuming they were “special cases”).

Although the mechanisms that relate birth months and health benefits are still not fully known, the researchers believe that sunlight is the factor that sets the difference between those born in summer and winter.

Their study has many strengths, including a large sample size of people “without biased ascertainment for birth”, but there are still a few limitations.

If babies in the womb receive a boost of vitamin D at a critical stage of their development, it may give them a health advantage in later life.