If you think about it, birthdays account for a lot in life - from getting into kindergarten to getting your first driver's license. And maybe a whole lot more than that, if you're a horoscope reader.
Now your birthday has been tied to your level of fitness and chances of becoming a professional athlete.
A study out of Queensland University of Technology's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation reports that a significant number of the Australian Football League's players were born in the early months of the calendar year, like January and February. The fewest number of players were born in the later months of the year, like November and December.
In a statement from his publisher, author and senior research fellow Adrain Barnett points out that as children in Australia, those January birthdays would have had twelve more months to grow than a child in the same grade who was born in December (the Australian school year starts in January).
Of course, don't forget - there are plenty of reasons to exercise, even if your birthday doesn't predispose you to athletic stardom.
Complete Book Reference: Barnett AG, Dobson AJ, Analysing Seasonal Health Data, Springer, 2010. ISBN 978-3-642-10747-4.
