One possible long term disadvantage of being born into a privileged family is highlighted by new research on the shape and size of today’s children.

Researchers investigating the effects of social inequality on health have today (Tuesday 19 April) released findings which show that children from more affluent backgrounds are taller and leaner than children from poorer families.

By the age of 9, children whose mothers were educated to degree level were, on average, 1.5cm taller than children whose mothers had no formal qualification. They were also, on average, 1kg lighter.

But when they examined the children’s bone mass, the researchers in Bristol found evidence that the taller, thinner (and more affluent) children may have weaker bones and be more susceptible to fractures or  osteoporosis later in life.

The results are based on tests involving 6,700 children taking part in the University of Bristol’s Children of the 90s study.    The findings will be announced today at the annual conference of the British Society for Rheumatology.

Lead researcher Dr Emma Clark, a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Fellow, explained:  “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, if we can identify contributory factors to this early on, then we should be better equipped to help avoid and manage such problems.

Bone mass was measured for all 6,700 children using a whole body DXA Lunar Prodigy scanner which can assess bone, lean and fat content.    

The researchers discovered that while they may be taller and leaner, the children from more privileged backgrounds have the same amount of calcium in their bones as children from less privileged backgrounds.

There were strong differences in bone shape too.  Children from more privileged backgrounds have taller more slender bones (despite having similar calcium content), which may make them break more easily.

Taken together, it suggests that children from more privileged backgrounds may have weaker bones and a higher susceptibility to sustaining fractures due to osteoporosis in later life.

Dr Clark says:  One possible long term disadvantage of being born into a privileged family is highlighted by new research on the shape and size of today’s children.

“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 and regular exercise in maintaining general good health and wellbeing.“

Dr Clark is planning to expand this area of work by examining the number of children who suffer broken bones and other skeletal problems, related to their social background.