Dads for height, Mums for weight

Fathers affect how tall you are and mothers determine your weight. That's the long and the short of it according to researchers from the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital. Final results are still some way off but researchers say it's clear that the taller the father the longer the baby. Yet it doesn't seem to matter how heavy the father is when compared to the child's weight. Conversely, while a mother's height has little or no effect on her children, her weight does. Hospital scientists reckon this is down to the environment in the womb - particularly overweight mothers tend to have a higher supply of sugar in their blood.

Research midwife Dr Beatrice Knight said 1,000 families were taking part in the research, measuring height and weight of parents and of babies over the first two years of life. Dr Knight emphasised that both genetic and environmental factors were involved in influencing a child's growth but added: 'Obviously one of the biggest influences on a baby's growth is the size of the mother. But we have confirmed that a father's height also has a direct impact on their baby's growth, with taller dads having longer and heavier babies.'

By identifying the genes involved in early growth Dr Knight hopes to develop a better understanding of the inter-linking of genetics and the environment.

Many men were initially reluctant to participate but Dr Knight said their eventual involvement was crucial in identifying genetic influences on baby growth.

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