Children Of Older Mothers Are Taller And Do Better In School

[AntiPUFA]

I'm sorry but that's silly.

It's known that progesterone declines with aging. So younger women should give healthier babies as they have higher progesterone than a 40-50 years old menopause.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

I'm sorry but that's silly.

It's known that progesterone declines with aging. So younger women should give healthier babies as they have higher progesterone than a 40-50 years old menopause.

This is not about health. Being good at school is about obedience, and often this obedience is due to not being able to connect with peers. That's where the nerd stereotypes come from.

Being tall is about diet more than anything else. Hypothyroidism often makes one tall.

 

[AntiPUFA]

This is not about health. Being good at school is about obedience, and often this obedience is due to not being able to connect with peers. That's where the nerd stereotypes come from.

Being tall is about diet more than anything else. Hypothyroidism often makes one tall.

OP pointed out 'possible being born to an older mother confers intellectual and health benefits to the child'

So yes that clearly says that older mothers wiil have healthier babies. You should first porst carefully. Again it doesn't sound logically.

 

[TurboTime]

Men of all ages seem to have a near-universal preference for young women

This is probably due to the monogamous nature of people, a younger wife means more children in total. A younger girl probably pair bonds better too. I doubt that late childbirth is better though.

I think Bobbybob and Huge Johnson have the best explanation when they say it's about what types of people are having births later these days. Highly educated people delay children and if they do have children they tend to also be highly educated. Surprise! Especially in Sweden though, where there's quite a contrast between native swedes and immigrants.

Also skimmed the study and noticed this which gives it away completely

In our analyses of physical fitness and height, we also adjust for birth order, as research demonstrates that, compared to first‐borns, later‐born children have lower physical fitness (Barclay and Myrskylä 2014) and are shorter (Myrskylä et al. 2013a).

 

[TheBeard]

Most androgenic looking men I know were born from parents sub 25.
All kids I knew that were born from parents past the age of 30 mostly look like soy boys.

Ironically, the most androgenic men often are smarter in their existence. Not from a pure IQ standpoint, but street smart.

 

[Alex Jaramillo]

My father was 47 and mother was 34. Age is definently one factor but it’s not everything. I think many variables play into this though because everybody faces different circumstances. If you were not breastfed, if you were fed trash junk food , if your parents were alcoholics, drug addicts, gave you formula, abused you etc. There is nothing you can do to go back in time and change such variables but you can keep these things in mind for your children so that they can become healthy, strong, intelligent individuals.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

OP pointed out 'possible being born to an older mother confers intellectual and health benefits to the child'

So yes that clearly says that older mothers wiil have healthier babies. You should first porst carefully. Again it doesn't sound logically.

I stand corrected. I forgot what he had written. Still, I doubt it's biological, it's about money and parenting.

 

[shan.alexander_]

@haidut some excerpts you were alluding to:

"Diabetic women are known to typically have large babies with big heads. who learn quickly. With each pregnancy, a woman tends to have less " glucose tolerance," ' or to seem more diabetic. HCG. the hormone which helps sustain pregnancy, raises the blood sugar to meet the fetus 's need for abundant sugar. So diabetes and pregnancy have much in common . And as a woman gets older she tends towards diabetes, and so tends to nourish the fetus better, especially its brain . Besides this natural tendency, a more mature woman is less likely to live on snack foods."
-Ray Peat, Some Diseases, V. Pregnancy & Children


Ray expands in Pregnancy and Children, Precocious Babies:

"During pregnancy the mother's body adapts to live increasingly on fat, so that most of the sugar which is available can be used by the baby. The brain uses most of the body's glucose, so mental fatigue can easily affect the blood sugar level. The developing baby is extremely dependent on glucose for its energy supply, and its brain can be damaged by sugar starvation. Women who are mildly diabetic are known to have big, precocious babies with large heads. Pregnancy itself resembles diabetes. in the adaptation to oxidizing fat rather than sugar, so that a slight tendency toward diabetes can be thought of as a support tor pregnancy. Older women are more likely to have some degree of "diabetes," or elevated blood sugar. With each pregnancy, there is a tendency for the blood sugar to be higher. and for the baby to be bigger and more precocious. Older women. in fact, tend to have superior babies. However, after several pregnancies, especially if they are spaced so closely that the body doesnt have time to recover from the depletion of nutrients, the average birth weight suddenly falls, and problems of cell division such as twinning or Down's syndrome become much more common . The fact that the fourth or fifth baby is always borne by an "older" woman has led to the mistaken belief that age alone is responsible for "mongolism." The essential role of nutritional depletion is shown by comparing birth weights and birth defects in women of different social classes and incomes: at a given age, birth weights are lower and birth defects are more common, and the symptoms of depletion (loss of teeth, decreased birth weight. infertility) occur sooner in poor classes. Vitamin E. vitamin A, and magnesium are other nutrients that help to maintain blood sugar. Vitamin B12 is needed to use vitamin A. Folic acid, vitamin B6. and zinc are depleted by elevated estrogen and are especially important for healthy pregnancy. Too much copper can lower blood sugar: too much iron can destroy vitamin E, and vitamin E deficiency can lead to jaundice, which can affect the baby's brain" - Ray Peat

As an anecdote, in Asia, it is common belief that the younger mothers have healthier babies. This might be because the young mother has less stored PUFA than older women who have spent decades absorbing vegetable oils, and the higher progesterone levels / lower age-related stress hormones of a young healthy person (and in asia, they are eating so much rice and noodles and meat and fruits -- so it is more likely the young mother is well nourished with high blood sugar). Young asian mothers also usually live with their family and have a lot of social support structures, thus reducing stress and uncertainty.

 

[theotokos]

I believe that in this moment of history there are too many factors to take into account.

Kids are going vegan in their early teens now- many of them after growing up on a standard diet, which is more deficient than ever, especially if you're American. It may not be so bad if you're a Southern European, who tend to consume more whole foods.

As social media, and society in general, delay maturity, I believe that other lifestyle choices such as nutrition will do the same. A lot of kids these days are doing tons of weed and other drugs, drinking nonstop every weekend, and these tendencies tend to relax when they leave university.

It's true that toxins have an accumulative effect - but I'm also seeing tons of people becoming more aware of their health (including stress) from their mid-20s, and I believe that these are the people that will benefit from having children later in life.

My father was 47 and mother was 34. Age is definently one factor but it’s not everything. I think many variables play into this though because everybody faces different circumstances. If you were not breastfed, if you were fed trash junk food , if your parents were alcoholics, drug addicts, gave you formula, abused you etc. There is nothing you can do to go back in time and change such variables but you can keep these things in mind for your children so that they can become healthy, strong, intelligent individuals.

Yes. I know people in both sides of the spectrum, some born from teenage mothers and others from mothers who were in their 30s, and I haven't noticed a pattern. Some of those born from women in their 30s are very good looking and smart, and others born from young mothers are also smart but less good looking and more prone to depression. It's not as simple as young vs old.

 

[PurpleHeart]

Doing better in school is a sign of obedience , obedience is a sign of serotonin and stress in my opinion, most creatives and visionaries never do good in authoritarian institutions like schools, universities etc. That's why most of them drop out more often than not, and usually thrive doing their research away from dogmatic academies.

As far as height goes it's probably diet depended, older mothers probably fare better financially which means that they probably feed their children more expensive things, meat , fish ,cheese etc.

I respect Ray Peat, but claiming that an old semi-diabetic female will produce healthier offspring, than a young healthy one, and simplifying child bearing down to excess sugar doesn't sound very scientific to me.

 

[TheBeard]

Doing better in school is a sign of obedience , obedience is a sign of serotonin and stress in my opinion, most creatives and visionaries never do good in authoritarian institutions like schools, universities etc. That's why most of them drop out more often than not, and usually thrive doing their research away from dogmatic academies.

As far as height goes it's probably diet depended, older mothers probably fare better financially which means that they probably feed their children more expensive things, meat , fish ,cheese etc.

I respect Ray Peat, but claiming that an old semi-diabetic female will produce healthier offspring, than a young healthy one, and simplifying child bearing down to excess sugar doesn't sound very scientific to me.

Exactly.

And it goes hand in hand with the observation that the brilliant kids were the least androgenic looking / behaving kids.

 

[Salome]

I think Ray wrote in one of his articles that the children of mothers in their 40s and even 50s has higher IQs and were healthier than children of mothers in the range of 18-25 years of age. I forgot what is the exact reason he attributed it to but I think it had to do with progesterone levels and brain development in these older women. Basically, brain never stops developing and as long as progesterone is high enough to make conception and pregnancy possible being born to an older mother confers intellectual and health benefits to the child.
This study seems to confirm Ray's point even though the authors give another explanation that seems quite far-fetched.

Advanced Maternal Age and Offspring Outcomes: Reproductive Aging and Counterbalancing Period Trends - Barclay - 2016 - Population and Development Review - Wiley Online Library
Children of older mothers do better: The benefits associated with being born in a later year outweigh the biological risks associated with being born to an older mother

"...Most previous research suggests that the older women are when they give birth, the greater the health risks are for their children. Childbearing at older ages is understood to increase the risk of negative pregnancy outcomes such as Down syndrome, as well as increase the risk that the children will develop Alzheimer's disease, hypertension, and diabetes later in life. However, despite the risks associated with delaying childbearing, children may also benefit from mothers delaying childbearing to older ages. These are the findings from a new study conducted by Mikko Myrskylä, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR),) and his colleague Kieron Barclay at the London School of Economics, that has been published today in Population and Development Review. Both public health and social conditions have been improving over time in many countries. Previous research on the relationship between maternal age and child outcomes has ignored the importance of these macro-level environmental changes over time. From the perspective of any individual parent, delaying childbearing means having a child with a later birth year. For example, a ten-year difference in maternal age is accompanied by a decade of changes to social and environmental conditions. Taking this perspective, this new MPIDR-study shows that when women delay childbearing to older ages their children are healthier, taller, and more highly educated. It shows that despite the risks associated with childbearing at older ages, which are attributable to aging of the reproductive system, these risks are either counterbalanced, or outweighed, by the positive changes to the environment in the period during which the mother delayed her childbearing."

Very interesting. My parents had me at 40, and I am taller than both of them, and also high IQ.

I personally can't think of anyone I know born to some over-30 who is genuinely pretty... maybe it's all about a young father.

Well. Can't win everything. LOL. Some say I'm ugly, some say I'm pretty. I think it's hard to quantify how attractive you are.

 

[Salome]

Exactly.

And it goes hand in hand with the observation that the brilliant kids were the least androgenic looking / behaving kids.

So the most feminine males were the highest IQ?

 

[TheBeard]

So the most feminine males were the highest IQ?

School-wise.
They usually have very poor street skills.

Androgenic men are very street smart.

 

[Sam321]

I think Ray wrote in one of his articles that the children of mothers in their 40s and even 50s has higher IQs and were healthier than children of mothers in the range of 18-25 years of age. I forgot what is the exact reason he attributed it to but I think it had to do with progesterone levels and brain development in these older women. Basically, brain never stops developing and as long as progesterone is high enough to make conception and pregnancy possible being born to an older mother confers intellectual and health benefits to the child.
This study seems to confirm Ray's point even though the authors give another explanation that seems quite far-fetched.

Advanced Maternal Age and Offspring Outcomes: Reproductive Aging and Counterbalancing Period Trends - Barclay - 2016 - Population and Development Review - Wiley Online Library
Children of older mothers do better: The benefits associated with being born in a later year outweigh the biological risks associated with being born to an older mother

"...Most previous research suggests that the older women are when they give birth, the greater the health risks are for their children. Childbearing at older ages is understood to increase the risk of negative pregnancy outcomes such as Down syndrome, as well as increase the risk that the children will develop Alzheimer's disease, hypertension, and diabetes later in life. However, despite the risks associated with delaying childbearing, children may also benefit from mothers delaying childbearing to older ages. These are the findings from a new study conducted by Mikko Myrskylä, the director of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR),) and his colleague Kieron Barclay at the London School of Economics, that has been published today in Population and Development Review. Both public health and social conditions have been improving over time in many countries. Previous research on the relationship between maternal age and child outcomes has ignored the importance of these macro-level environmental changes over time. From the perspective of any individual parent, delaying childbearing means having a child with a later birth year. For example, a ten-year difference in maternal age is accompanied by a decade of changes to social and environmental conditions. Taking this perspective, this new MPIDR-study shows that when women delay childbearing to older ages their children are healthier, taller, and more highly educated. It shows that despite the risks associated with childbearing at older ages, which are attributable to aging of the reproductive system, these risks are either counterbalanced, or outweighed, by the positive changes to the environment in the period during which the mother delayed her childbearing."

Probably because taller women generally have a harder time finding dudes because dudes don't really tend to dig dating taller women (inferiority issues) so they end up marrying and having kids later. As for them being smarter, might just be that women who have kids during their 20's teen angst stage pass on their trauma and stupid habits to their kids. If you hit 40-50 and have still managed to have kids, you probably really want the kids and are more likely to have your life together and will just be a better mom in general leading to smarter and more well adjusted kids.

 

[TradClare]

Why don't they look at large families and compare those kids? In my community which we moved to a few years ago, most women marry around age 19-25, and have kids continually until they stop. Several of my friends are having babies this year in their forties. Usually 6-14 total. They all "seem" equally very healthy. Clearly intelligence runs in certain families. I just think it's silly to spend money on this kind of stuff. People are going to have kids when they want to have kids (or more often today, NOT have kids) Better we focus on raising real men to be fathers. Maybe women are responsible for all the immaturity and lack of manliness in the world. They can just play around and and we can take the pill and then be free to do their jobs for them

 

[MetabolicTrash]

Isn't the mother's stress levels/mindset/lifestyle/etc. when carrying the baby -- later in pregnancy especially/possibly -- a huge possible effect (or the biggest even maybe) on the baby? Sure it depends on both parents health at the time/etc. but the mothers are the ones that might have to take more caution since after "inception" it's a fairly long amount of time when something can go wrong relevant to her/her life standing/situations personally which can affect the child's future in pre-birth development possibilities/changes.

My mother, for example, had lots of stress when carrying me/pregnant -- and my father around the time as well. Could that likely be a hurdle I'll always have to overcome/figure out to maximize health or standing as long as possible?

I think my mother was in her mid-30s when she had me, but I see healthier people who have even older parents that are in way better "shape" than me in multiple areas.