The Body Blame Game

Interesting news out of the UK today about which parent is responsible for which aspects of a baby’s appearance. Specifically, the baby’s length and body fat:

The work is ongoing, but researchers from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital say the initial results are clear – taller dads make longer babies.

How fat the father is does not seem to influence a child’s fatness, however.

In contrast, whether the mother is fat or not has a major effect on the birth weight of the baby, the team found.

If you read a little further, you’ll discover that the correlation isn’t perfect. Still, it’s pretty interesting stuff. Of course, if Pooky ends up with a big nose, she’ll have no doubt about whom to blame. That would be me.

Here’s the article on the BBC website.