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Mother's Age at Menarche Predicts Rapid Infancy Growth and Childhood Obesity

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The age of mother’s first menarche may affect her children’s growth rate, height and risk of obesity according to a study. The researchers hypothesized that age at menarche in the mother may in turn predict her children’s early growth and obesity risk.

Researchers from the Medical Research Council and University of Cambridge studied over six thousand children in the United Kingdom and found that women who had her periods at an earlier age was found to be shorter in height and more obese when compared to the women whose periods stared later.

The children of women whose periods started early had a rapid growth and weight gain in their infancy and were taller in their childhood but this resulted in early maturation and was more likely to have short stature when they were adults.This growth pattern increases the risk of obesity among such children.

Furthermore, because puberty, particularly in girls, is associated with an increase in body fat, a high BMI at age nine might indicate imminent puberty rather than a risk of long-standing obesity-further follow-up studies will clarify this point. Nevertheless, the current findings provide a new factor-earlier mother’s menarche-that could help health care professionals identify which infants require early growth monitoring to avoid later obesity.

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