Babies Born With Low Birth Weight May Be Less Active Later in Life

Babies born with a low birth weight are less likely to be good at sports at school, or to engage in exercise later in life, according to a recent study. The findings showed that those with a low birth weight were less likely to take part in exercise and sports across adulthood, from 36 to 68 years.

• 
• 
  Should Machines Decide Who Lives And Dies In A War? Ex-CIA Chief Answers
• 
  Kriti Sanon Says Instagram Has No Option To Report AI-Generated Images Of Her
• 
  What Anthropic, Monks And The Cusp Of Consciousness Teach About Tomorrow
• 
  Nikhil Kamath's Big AI Bet: Why India Should Look Beyond Silicon Valley
• 
  When Will India Get Its Own Apple, Samsung? Ashwini Vaishnaw Reveals Timeline
• 
  Neeru Saini On Fitness, Focus & Her Love for Churma!
• 
  NDTV Lifeline- Himanshu Saini on the Secret to Eating Well: More Greens, Healthier Desserts
• 
  Hockey Champions Savita Punia & Neha Goel on Fitness, Recovery & The Meaning of Health
• 
  Millets: The Superfood That's Good for You and the Planet
• 
  Yoga, Millets, Vaccines: S Jaishankar On How India Is Building Stronger Ties | NDTV World Summit

Although previous studies have shown that a low birth weight can affect sporting ability and exercise levels at a younger age, however, this is the first study that has revealed how low birth relates to exercising ability across adulthood and also later in life, the researchers said.In the study, the researchers have classified participants with low birth weight - those who weighed up to 5.5 pounds, or 2.5 kg - at their birth. It was found that such participants, when around 13-year-old, were more likely to be rated as below-average at playing sports in school.

"It's important that parents, teachers and doctors recognise that those born with low birth weight might require more support than others in order to achieve sustained physical activity throughout their lives," said lead author Ahmed Elhakeem, researcher at the University College London.The researchers said given that the babies born with low birth weight have an increased chance of survival into adulthood at the study will have greater public health implication for present and future generations.For the study, the team involved data of 2,739 participants from London's Medical Research Council's (MRC) national survey for health and development. The results were published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)