What it means if your baby has a big head – and how it could impact later life
Most babies have big heads. At least, large in proportion to their bodies. But some babies have heads a little bigger than others. What does that tell us? If you had a large head as a baby, you might already have worked it out… Little ones with sizeable skulls are,…
Most babies have big heads. At least, large in proportion to their bodies.
But some babies have heads a little bigger than others. What does that tell us? If you had a large head as a baby, you might already have worked it out…
Little ones with sizeable skulls are, according to a new study, likely to be more intelligent, and go on to academic success.
The research, carried out by health charity UK Biobank, suggests that the brain size and head circumference of babies was linked to how clever they are.
The measuring
How big is your baby’s head? (Photo: Dorling Kindersley)
The charity found that the babies were more likely to go on to achieve university degrees. Not all intelligent people necessarily have one of those of course – though it is, it seems, a reasonable indicator.
The research says that an average newborn girl’s head is 35cm. For boys, it’s 36cm. Babies with larger heads had ‘higher scores on verbal-numerical reasoning’, Netmumswrites, which is the easiest measuring stick for babies’ intelligence. Scientists looked at data from more than 100,000 youngsters on a UK Biobank database.
The charity gathered information from volunteers aged between 37 and 73. The data was collected between 2006 and 2010, so clearly took some time. The purpose was to identify whether there are links between genes, IQ, and health.
Participants were also asked to provide detailed information about their lifestyle and background, as well as provide blood, saliva, and urine samples.
You might think it’s obvious that the bigger the brain, the cleverer a person is. But this is some further evidence to back up that thoery.