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New Study Seeks to Link
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New Study Seeks to Link Physical Performance in Childhood and
Late Life
By Richard Shank
Researchers in the United Kingdom sought to test the proposed relationship between early childhood physical conditions and physical performance and activity in older adults.
Recently, there has been growing interest in the influence that physical characteristics present in early life have on physical ability in old age. For example, one study has shown that early developmental factors influence muscle strength later in life. Researchers have explained this as a process of "programming," where experiences with specific events in critical stages of childhood development have a lifelong impact on organ development and performance. Specifically, it is thought that events that lead to poor growth in-utero will change the performance and abundance of muscle fibers.
This research was designed to replicate these findings. The researchers' objective was to "investigate the relationship between birth size, growth in early life, physical performance, and physical activity in older people." They hypothesized that older people who had lower birth weights and poorer early life growth would demonstrate poorer physical performance and lower levels of physical abilities.
To test their hypothesis, they utilized data that had been collected at birth in Hertfordshire, UK from the period of 1911 through 1948. In 1998, the National Health Service utilized these records to trace men and women born in Hertfordshire between 1931 and 1939, who were still living in the county and registered with a general practitioner. The researchers worked through the general practitioners and obtained permission to contact nearly 1,500 of these individuals, thereby conducting clinical interviews with over 700 of them. Five hundred of these individuals agreed to attend clinical examinations that included anthropometry and the completion of a short physical performance test.
Their findings suggested that their hypothesis was false. There was no relationship between early childhood physical conditions and adult physical performance. However for men, adults with higher birth weights demonstrated slightly better balance. They concluded that adult weight had a much greater impact on physical ability than their childhood conditions.
In short, these findings confirm the need to focus on weight management in programs wishing to promote physical wellness and exercise, and that the perception of lifelong physical limitations need not inhibit attempts at physical wellness.
Source: Martin, H. Syddall, H., Dennison, E., Cooper, C. Aihie-Sayer, A. 2008. Physical performance and physical activity in older people: Are developmental influences important? Gerontology (May).
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