3 Things Your Birth Predicts About Your Health

While your family history can tell you a lot about your inherited risks, so can things like your birth order, birth weight, and how old your mom was when she had you. (Even your birth month may affect your health; check it out.)

Here are three ways aspects of your health might be predetermined at birth.

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If you weighed more than 10 pounds—or fewer than 6—at birth...

...you have a greater risk for vision, hearing, or cognitive problems by the time you reach middle age, according to a UK study of more than 400,000 people. The University of Manchester researchers say the cognitive and sensory problems may stem from not getting enough nutrition before birth or, alternatively, from an abnormal amount of growth hormones that affect neurosensory development.

If you're a firstborn...

...you're more likely to be overweight than your siblings, according to a study of more than 13,000 pairs of Swedish sisters. (Here are 7 more weird reasons you're gaining weight.) After analyzing data from the sister pairs, researchers found that firstborns were 29% more likely to be overweight and 40% more likely to be obese than their younger sisters. Firstborn men aren't off the hook, either. Earlier research discovered the same trends among firstborn boys. Researchers say it may have something to do with blood flow to the placenta. During a woman's first pregnancy, narrower blood vessels may not allow as many nutrients through as during later pregnancies.