Are Taller Children More Successful?

Supermodels and basketball players aren’t the only ones who can benefit from having a little extra height. As it turns out, taller children may be healthier, more intelligent and have greater financial success throughout life!
A new study reveals poor fetal growth or stunting in the first two years of a child’s life can cause irreversible damage, including shorter adult height, fewer years of educational attainment and reduced adult income. Researchers also found women who were underdeveloped as children gave birth to lower birthweight children themselves.
Researchers looked at indicators of undernutrition in children, including maternal height, birthweight, fetal growth restriction and the child’s height, weight and body-mass index (BMI) at two years of age. They found a strong correlation between these factors and adult outcomes, including adult height, weight and BMI, income and assets, schooling and blood pressure.
The most surprising results? Height at age two was the best predictor of the child’s future economic productivity, or human capital.
But making up for that undernourishment later in life won’t solve the problem. “Chronic diseases are especially common in undernourished children who experience rapid weight gain after infancy,” study authors write. “Middle-income countries undergoing the nutrition transition should also address the negative consequences of rapid weight-gain, especially in later childhood.”

SOURCE: DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61692-4