New Delhi, February 23 A study that models how genes may influence a child's body mass index over time has found that BMI at age 10 and overall growth rate between ages one and 18 might be important factors, as the two are more likely linked to diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease in later life.
The findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, could help better understand the underlying biology of healthy growth across childhood, said Nicole Warrington, a senior research fellow at the University of Queensland in Australia.
"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," Warrington said.
The result "indicates that we are ignoring important information when assessing growth based on population averages," the author said.
Nearly 66,000 BMI measurements from around 6,300 children and adolescents aged one to 18 were analysed to understand the role of genes.
Analysing children's growth over time, rather than at a single age, helped the researchers see how a child's genetics influences the rate at which they grow, said Geng Wang, a postdoctoral research fellow from the University of Queensland.
"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," Wang said.
Genetic factors contributing to an infant's body size may be different from those contributing to a teenager's body size, Wang said.
"When using these (the study's) results to consider health, our results suggested that body size differences in younger children don't necessarily reflect lifelong obesity risk," the author said.
Warrington said, "Future research is needed to help identify the most effective ages to prevent obesity or poor growth for long-term benefit."
The data for the analysis came from the 'Children of the 90s' study, based at the UK's University of Bristol, and is a "rich resource for the study of the environmental and genetic factors that affect a person's health and development".