The study, led by the University of Queensland (UQ), used data from the Children of the 90s (ALSPAC), based at the University of Bristol, to understand the genetic contribution to the BMI patterns of 6,291 children between the ages of one and 18 years.
Dr Geng Wang, from UQ’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience, said by analysing children’s growth over time, rather than at a single age, they were able to see how genetics influences the rate at which children grow.
“Parents often worry when a child gains weight early or grows differently from others, but our findings suggest that genetic variation can influence these changes,” Dr Wang said.
“We found genetic factors that contribute to an infant’s body size may be different from the ones contributing to a teenager’s body size.
“When using these results to consider health, our results suggested body size differences in younger children don’t necessarily reflect lifelong obesity risk.”
However, the study found a child’s BMI at around 10 years of age, as well as the overall growth rate from one to 18 years, may be worth paying attention to as this is more likely linked to diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease in later life.
Dr Nicole Warrington said the findings could help researchers and doctors understand the underlying biology of healthy growth across childhood.
“We found that about one quarter of the differences in how children’s body weight changes from age one to 18 years is due to genetics,” Dr Warrington said.
This indicates that we are ignoring important information when assessing growth based on population averages.
“Future research is needed to help identify the most effective ages to prevent obesity or poor growth for long-term benefit.”
Professor Nicholas Timpson, Principal Investigator at Children of the 90s, said the research highlights how genetics contribute to health issues and how these may change or remain through time.
“This work has suggested important genetic relationships with the way BMI changes from one to 18 years old, as well as average levels at any given age,” Professor Timpson said.
“The results here really do help us to get a better feel for the changing patterns and implications of health-related factors – like body size – as they vary across the life course.”
The study was carried out in collaboration with The University of Melbourne, La Trobe University and the University of Bristol.
