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| Credit: © JPC-PROD / Fotolia |
According to the study, reported by Science Daily, a baby who puts on 40% of their birth weight within the first four months since birth had an IQ 1.5 points higher by the time they were 6 years old, compared with babies who only put on 15% of their birth weight.
Lead author of the study, Lisa Smithers, discussing the research said: "Those children who gained the most weight scored especially high on verbal IQ at age 6. This may be because the neural structures for verbal IQ develop earlier in life, which means rapid weight gain during that neonatal period could be having a direct cognitive benefit for the child."
The experiment consisted of data taken from more than 13,800 children who were born full-term. It also revealed that those children who saw the biggest growth in head circumference also had the highest IQs.
Explaining this, Dr. Smithers says: "Head circumference is an indicator of brain volume, so a greater increase in head circumference in a newborn baby suggests more rapid brain growth... Overall, newborn children who grew faster in the first four weeks had higher IQ scores later in life."
Previous studies have shown links between the birth-weight and IQ later in life, and other studies which have shown an association between early postnatal diet and IQ, though this study is the first of its kind in linking the IQ benefits of rapid weight gain in the first month of newborn babies.
Dr Smithers says the study further highlights the need for successful feeding of newborn babies: "We know that many mothers have difficulty establishing breastfeeding
in the first weeks of their baby's life... the findings of our study suggest that if infants are having feeding
problems, there needs to be early intervention in the management of
that feeding."
Sources Linked
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130618101141.htm
http://www.designntrend.com/articles/4968/20130618/fascinating-study-shows-baby-weight-gain-linked-potential-iq.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1483134.stm
