Children born in summer or autumn grow up to be taller and heavier because their mothers were exposed to more sunlight during pregnancy, researchers claim
- People born in summer or autumn tend to be taller and heavier than their peers
- Researchers say Vitamin D in the late foetal period can affect your growth
- Researchers in Hunan province looked at 462 children of both genders
If you’re one of those who always wondered why they were short-changed in the height department, scientists may have the answer.
People born in summer or autumn tend to be taller and heavier than peers with birthdays in spring or winter, a study has found.
After analysing the relationship between birth month and height, researchers in China claim a key factor is Vitamin D, which aids bone growth and is created by our bodies after exposure to sunshine.
A mother who enters the third trimester – from week 27 – in the spring or summer would naturally receive more exposure to sunlight (file image)
The scientists said it was important ‘in the late foetal period and after the birth of the infant’.
A mother who enters the third trimester – from week 27 – in the spring or summer would therefore naturally receive more exposure to sunlight, and her baby, born three months later, would also see the effect of longer and sunnier days and ‘have a significantly lower risk of short stature’.
The researchers in Hunan province looked at 462 children of both genders aged from two to 14.
They compared the birth dates of those classified as being of ‘short stature’ and found almost 40 per cent had low levels of Vitamin D.
The tallest and heaviest were born in June, July or August, followed by those in the autumn months of September, October and November.
The experts said the amount of Vitamin D passed on in breast milk was ‘relatively low’ and did ‘not fully meet the growth and developmental needs of the child’.
They added: ‘We recommend that pregnant mothers and postnatal infants take adequate intensity and sufficient hours of sunlight.’
The role of seasonal births could explain the height of June baby Prince William, who is the tallest living Royal at 6ft 3in.
He shares a birth month with actor Liam Neeson, who is an inch taller, while July-born Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen is 6ft.
People born in summer or autumn tend to be taller and heavier than peers with birthdays in spring or winter, a study has found
The advice of the Chinese scientists was echoed by Professor Ken Ong, from the Department of Paediatrics at Cambridge University, who conducted a similar UK study on 450,000 people in 2015.
He also found summer-born children were stronger and taller because of the role of Vitamin D. ‘There are very robust patterns between height and being born in the summer,’ said Professor Ong.
However, he told The Mail on Sunday that parents should consider other factors, adding: ‘Summer births are really good for height, but your child would then be the youngest in the class and that’s not good for educational performance all the way through childhood and even later on in life.
‘Giving birth in autumn would get the best of both outcomes.’
However, Professor Rosalind John, from the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University, urged women to focus on a healthy diet – which can also be a source of Vitamin D – rather than planning pregnancies around the seasons.
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