Heavy baby girls have higher heart risk PERTH, Australia, March 31 (UPI) -- Heavier baby girls are more likely to develop diabetes and metabolic risk when they grow up compared with chubby boys, Australian researchers say. Dr. Rae-Chi Huang of the University of Western Australia in Perth and colleagues examined 1,053 17-year-olds from an Australian birth study. Follow-up of study participants took place at eight intervals between ages 1-17. In addition to birth weight and body mass index, the researchers took measurements of blood pressure and levels of insulin, blood glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol. The 17-year-old girls with the greater waist circumference, triglycerides, insulin and lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol -- the "good" cholesterol -- were also heavier from birth with consistently higher BMI thereafter. In contrast, birth weight had no statistical impact on metabolic risk factors in males, the study said. "What happens to a baby in the womb affects future heart disease and diabetes risk when the child grows up," Huang, the study author, said in a statement. We found that female babies are particularly prone to this increased risk, and females who are at high risk of obesity and diabetes-related conditions at age 17 are showing increased obesity as early as 12 months of age.