Wealthy kids leaner and taller than poor

LONDON - Children from privileged backgrounds are likely to be taller and leaner than those from poorer families, British research has found.

Despite their advantages in height and weight, however, wealthier children may also be more likely to have weaker bones.

The researchers investigated the effects of social inequality on health by testing 6700 children as part of the Children of the 90s study.

The University of Bristol research found that by age 9, children whose mothers were educated to degree level were on average 1.5cm taller and 1kg lighter than children whose mothers had no formal qualifications.

However, the taller and leaner children may face difficulties in later life, as researchers found evidence they may have weaker bones, making them more vulnerable to fractures or osteoporosis.

Lead researcher Dr Emma Clark said: "Our prime concern in this project was to explore how social inequalities contribute to health inequalities.

"We wanted to investigate bone mass in children, considering how that may relate to bone mass as they get older.

"Many people develop skeletal problems later in life, so if we can identify contributory factors to this early on, we should be better equipped to help avoid and manage such problems." The scientists measured bone mass using a whole-body scanner to assess bone, lean and fat content.

The findings suggest affluent children's bones were also more slender, which means they are easier to break.

Dr Clark said: "Most conditions and diseases have some form of social pattern. The fascinating fact is that bone mass shows no sign of this, while height and weight do.

"This opens the door to a new focus for researchers and sets us a challenge to find out why, and what the implications of this may be.

"It also raises the possibility that children with a bigger bone mass relative to their height are less susceptible to skeletal problems as they have stronger bones.

"This is something that needs to be considered further.

"But it is important to emphasise the role of a healthy diet in maintaining general good health and wellbeing."

Dr Clark has been awarded the British Society for Rheumatology's Young Investigator of the Year award for the study. The findings will be presented at the society's annual conference today.

Dr Clark now plans to examine the number of children who suffer broken bones and other skeletal problems in relation to their social backgrounds.

The Children of the 90s study signed up 14,000 pregnant mothers in 1991-92 and has followed most of the children and parents ever since.

- NZPA