SYDNEY, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Researchers in Australia have modeled how genes can influence a child's body mass index (BMI) over time, potentially shaping the risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes later in life.
Researchers used data from the long-running "Children of the 90s" study, based at the University of Bristol in Britain, to understand the genetic contribution to the BMI patterns of 6,291 children between the ages of one and 18 years, said a statement from Australia's University of Queensland (UQ) on Friday.
By analyzing children's growth over time, rather than at a single age, researchers were able to see how a child's genetics influences the rate at which they grow, said Wang Geng from UQ's Institute for Molecular Bioscience.
"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," said Wang, lead author of the study published in Nature Communications.
Wang said genetics appear to affect growth differently across life stages, with distinct sets of genes influencing BMI in infancy and adolescence.
"When using these results to consider health, our results suggested body size differences in younger children don't necessarily reflect lifelong obesity risk," he said.
However, researchers found that BMI levels around age 10, and the overall growth rate from one to 18 years, were more strongly linked to later risks of diabetes, high cholesterol and heart disease.
UQ Senior Research Fellow Nicole Warrington said genetics accounted for roughly a quarter of differences in children's body weight changes, underscoring the need for age-specific approaches to preventing obesity or monitoring healthy growth. ■
