Your birth month can influence sports success

Feb 10, 2010

An Australian researcher has found your chances of becoming a professional sports person could depend on your birthday.

An Australian researcher has found your chances of becoming a professional sports person could depend on your birthday.
Senior research fellow Adrian Barnett from Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation found that a person’s birth month could determine their health and fitness.

The results of the study are published in a book, Analysing Seasonal Health Data, which Barnett co-authored with researcher Annette Dobson from the University of Queensland.

Barnett analysed the birthdays of professional Australian Football League (AFL) players and found a disproportionate number had their birthdays in the early months of the year, while a fewer number were born in the later months, especially December.

“If you were born in January, you have almost 12 months’ growth ahead of your classmates born late in the year, so whether you were born on December 31, or January 1, could have a huge effect on your life.”

Barnett found there were 33% more professional AFL players than expected with birthdays in January and 25% fewer in December.

He said the results mirrored other international studies which found a link between being born near the start of school year and the chances of becoming a professional player in the sports of ice hockey, football, volleyball and basketball.

“Research in the UK shows those born at the start of the school year also do better academically and have more confidence,” he said.

Barnett said this seasonal pattern could also result in wasted talent, with potential sports stars not being identified because they were competing against children who were much more physically advanced than them.

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