A man's income may be partly determined by the speed at which he grew in the first year of life， scientists are claiming.

Findings from a study of 4，630 Finnish men showed that those who were shorter than average at the age of one earned significantly less than others in their peer group. They were also less likely to attain a high level of education. The result was striking and held true irrespective of social background， said the researchers.

They believe slower growth during the crucial brain development period in an infant's first year may impair an individual's mental abilities. This would lead to disadvantages throughout life， including poorer performance in school and a lower income.

Professor David Barker， from the University of Southampton， who co-led the study， said: \"What we have shown is that boys who don't grow so well in the first year of life do less well at school， and 50 years on are earning less money， than those who grew faster. The differences are significant irrespective of social origins. Something is happening to the brain that's pretty much worked out in the first year of life， and it ts very amazing to be able to see it.\"

科學(xué)家們宣稱，周歲前生長速度的快慢可能會部分影響到他成年后收入的多少。

科學(xué)家是在研究了4630名比同齡人矮的芬蘭人后得出上述結(jié)論的，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些人比同齡人的收入少得多，并且，這些人接受高等教育的比例也比較低。研究人員稱，這個結(jié)論令人難以置信，同時沒有考慮到不同的社會背景。

研究人員指出，嬰兒周歲前的腦部發(fā)育對他今后的成長至關(guān)重要，如果發(fā)育得慢，成年后的智力就會降低，從而導(dǎo)致生活中出現(xiàn)種種不如意的事，包括上學(xué)時學(xué)習(xí)成績差，工作后收入偏低。