Contrary to popular belief and alerts by the World Health
Organization, new research by the George Institute for
International Health indicates that the importance of the
reported relationship between birth weight and coronary heart
disease has been overestimated. Although low birth weight is
considered by the WHO to be a risk factor for heart disease, the
findings published today in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, question the widely held belief that smaller babies
are more susceptible to heart disease later in life. Dr Rachel
Huxley, lead author of the paper and Acting Director of
Nutrition and Lifestyle at The George Institute said, "Although
there was support for a small association between birth weight
and an individual's future risk of heart disease, the
relationship is not as strong as earlier studies have suggested.
Any effects that birth weight may have on heart disease are
dwarfed by other risk factors operating in adult life, such as
smoking and obesity." Coronary heart disease is the l