# Big Babies --\> Big Adults? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238 "2002-08-04T00:40:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chekmate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@Chekmate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chekmate)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/1 "2002-08-04T00:40:12Z")
Does the fact that someone is big when they are born mean they are going to be big as adults? Just from my family experience, I was 11 LBS when I was born, and am now 6’2" 240 LBS. My older brother on the other hand was 7 LBS when he was born, and is now 5’6" and about 160. Is there a correlation here, or was this justa coincidence? ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/2 "2002-08-04T01:15:43Z")
I don’t think its necessarily true. OK, my kids are still little (7 and 5 respectively), but they were the same weight at birth, yet my son is average for his age and my daughter is small. I hope someone comes in with something better than anecdotal evidence! ---
**Author:** ![PhilAlex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/839c29/32.png) [@PhilAlex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhilAlex)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/3 "2002-08-04T01:20:49Z")
I was 2 months premature, pathetically small. They told my mom I would be deaf, dumb and blind. Now, I’m 6’2", 220 lbs… I can hear, I can see, and, well, the jury’s still out on the dumbness. (And I’m single too, girls!) ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/4 "2002-08-04T02:21:10Z")
I was 8 lbs 11 oz -and 21 inches long when I was born and I am currently 6’ 3" and 240 lbs so I don’t know if your correlation is all that accurate. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/5 "2002-08-04T02:39:35Z")
I had a friend who had been a fairly big baby (9 lbs, IIRC), but she was well under 5’ tall as an adult. ---
**Author:** ![WV\_Woman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@WV\_Woman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WV_Woman)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/6 "2002-08-04T03:03:10Z")
I was 9 1/2 pounds at birth, and I’m big today. Husband was 9 pounds at birth, he’s big today. Brother in law was 9 pounds something at birth, he’s thin as a rail. Daughter was 8 lbs 10 oz and she’s a normal size for a kid her age. Flip a coin. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DemonSpawn52](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f17d59/32.png) [@DemonSpawn52](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonSpawn52)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/7 "2002-08-04T03:03:32Z")
I weighed 6 pounds when I was a baby, but I’ve been almost off the height and weight charts my whole life. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/8 "2002-08-04T06:51:47Z")
I was over 11lbs at birth, and long, and stopped growing at 6’ 9’’. Not tall, but not short either. All the kids (six of us) in my family were pretty large at birth, but none grew to be very tall. I don’t think there is correlation. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/9 "2002-08-04T07:27:26Z")
[Donna Secker, MSC, RD](http://www.heinzbaby.com/HINI/growth.htm) says > [@](#): > > Studies have shown that length at birth does not correlate well to eventual adult height, but relates best to maternal size. The “well” strikes me as important. There is a correlation but a very weak one. There are surely better sources then this one though. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/10 "2002-08-04T07:55:13Z")
**mangeorge** , you don’t consider 6’9" to be tall? Yikes - you couldn’t even stand up in my basement!:eek: Birth size doesn’t seem very reliable as a measure of adult size, but is there not a better correlation at a certain age a little down the road as to at least how _tall_ one would be? I’m thinking about what my mom told me about kids 2 years old: Take their height at (or near) their 2nd birthday, then double it. Add 2" if it’s a boy, and subtract 2" if it’s a girl. This should give you their adult height assuming proper nutrition, no injuries or other stunting, no messed-up pituitary glands, and so on. This worked out to be bang-on for myself and my two adopted siblings, either coincidently or by some other connection. For myself it actually came out to be acurrate to the 1/4 inch - I was 34 and 7/8 inches tall on my 2nd birthday. Today I’m 5’11 3/4", just as predicted 23 years ago. Anyone else heard of this or tried it? ---
**Author:** ![Epimetheus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c4cdca/32.png) [@Epimetheus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Epimetheus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/11 "2002-08-04T11:04:22Z")
I was 3lb 11 ounces, currently 5’9 180lbs. I was a tiny baby, but grew up average height. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/12 "2002-08-04T12:59:52Z")
My son was 9lbs, 10oz at birth. Today, at 22, he is 6’3", 255lbs. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/13 "2002-08-04T15:58:39Z")
Birth Weight Helps Determine Body Composition [http://am-i-pregnant.com/aip.data/article/show/birth/0/166095.shtml](http://am-i-pregnant.com/aip.data/article/show/birth/0/166095.shtml) > [@](#): > > In the study, the investigators evaluated the birth weight, adult weight and body composition of 238 female twin pairs between the ages of 18 and 34. Both fraternal and identical twins were included in the study. > > Loos and colleagues report that "twins with a very low birth weight (less than 2,000 grams) had a significantly different adult body composition than did twins with a high birth weight (greater than 3,000 grams). > > “Twins who were heavier at birth were not only taller and slightly heavier as adults but also had more lean body mass and less subcutaneous and abdominal fat than did twins who were lighter at birth,” they add. Birth weight may impact adult career success [http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/02/01/baby.size/](http://www.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/02/01/baby.size/) ---
**Author:** ![c\_carol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e79b87/32.png) [@c\_carol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/c_carol)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/14 "2002-08-04T19:19:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Take their height at (or near) their 2nd birthday, then double it. […] According to this system, my brother should have been about 5’10". He’s 6’5". ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/15 "2002-08-04T19:48:34Z")
I was 39 inches tall when I was 2 and I am now 77 inches tall. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-babies-big-adults/122238/16 "2002-08-04T20:00:00Z")
I was bigger than average (for a girl) at 8lbs 6oz and something like 21" at birth but as an adult I’m only 5’3". My brother was a big baby 10lbs8oz (23" inches, maybe?) and is 5’11" at age 19… he might still grow, but at 25 I surely won’t. In my case, though I started out a decent size, I grew very slowly and was considered small for my age well before my second birthday.