New study finds children grow more during the school term

Children grow significantly more during the school terms than they do over the summer holidays a new study has found. Photo / Getty Images

A recent study has claimed children grow faster during school terms.

Researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas have announced their findings from a five-year long experiment that included more than 3500 children.

The Daily Mail reports the experiment included children from 41 schools around the city of Sugar Land, Texas and followed a process where a nurse measured each child's height and weight in September and again in April – to match the American schooling terms.

In a study published in Frontiers in Psychology, scientists reported that first-year primary school students grew by an extra half a millimetre a month on average between September and April and claim the reason for this is because the routine of a school timetable helps children eat and sleep better.

Scientists went on to note that "exposure to the daily light-dark cycle" eg the amount of time spent awake during daylight hours may promote growth and results showed children grew significantly more during the school year compared to the summer months.

The study also measured the children's BMI – body mass index - to record weight gain in different body types and noted that 52.5 per cent of children were at a "persistently healthy weight" while 22.6 per cent were "chronically overweight or obese".

Dr Debbe Thompson author and children's nutritionist at Baylor College of Medicine said, "This differential seasonal impact of height and weight on BMIz lead to a healthier BMIz status during the school year."

While scientists could not find a clear reason for increased growth during the school terms, they noted children are at the greatest risk of becoming obese over the summer months as previous research showed children eat more junk and leave the house less during school holidays meaning they would put on the most body fat during this time.

Meanwhile, Dr Craig Johnson, author and obesity expert at the University of Houston said, "It's possible that the demands of the school year alter children's exposure to the daily light-dark cycle, which may cause the seasonal pattern in height.

"Additional studies on children who receive year-round schooling might help to answer this question."