Children with high birth weight perform higher in their early childhood education than other students, the American Economic Review says.
Researchers at Northwestern University (USA) found that children who weigh more than others at birth do better in primary and middle school – on average, score more on message tests.
This relationship occurs regardless of various factors, such as race, socioeconomic status, type of school, or parents’ education, and it occurs even between twins – the heavier of them achieve higher academic results.
“A baby who is born healthy does not have to have a fully formed brain. The results of our study suggest that a longer pregnancy period associated with greater weight gain is a beneficial phenomenon, ”comments David Figlio, co-author of the publication.
Researchers emphasize that birth weight does not determine the fate of a child. It may happen that a newborn weighs little and still does well in school. When predicting future success, it is more important whether the child’s mother has graduated from higher education.
“Better to have a low birth weight and a mother with a degree than to be a heavy child of a mother who dropped out of high school,” concludes Jonathan Guryan, one of the researchers. (PAP)