Testing your child's genes to predict their future health?

When I look at my two daughters, it seems fairly obvious who takes after me — and who takes after my husband, Anthony.

My older child, Lily, nine, has the same chestnut hair, taller build, profile and bone structure as her father.

But Clio, six, looks more like my side of the family — she’s slighter, shorter for her age, with a rounder face and fuller mouth. Their personalities also seem to fall along similar lines.


Family likeness: Tanith Carey with Clio and husband Anthony with Lily, who all underwent the £64 test from a U.S. genetic testing company

Clio is, dare I say it, a bit more type-A like me, while Lily opts for a more easy-going approach to life, like her father.

As we’ve watched their characteristics and looks emerge, Anthony and I have wondered how much of the children is down to the genes they’ve inherited from us — and how much is down to fate and the environment.

The undisputed fact is that children inherit 50 per cent of their genes from each parent, but these genes include millions of variations which accounts for the differences between all human beings.

So I was intrigued when I came across a U.S. genetic testing company, 23andMe, which could tell us whether Lily really is more of ‘a Harwood’ (my husband) and Clio ‘a Carey’.

But it wasn’t a step I took lightly. Beyond just satisfying our curiosity, I was also aware that we could be delving into some frightening territory.

Every week scientists are discovering more genetic variants pinpointing risks of serious illnesses, such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer.

As there’s a history of autoimmune diseases on my father’s side (he died of a rare muscle-wasting disease at 57) and of depression on my mother’s side, I knew we might have to face up to some difficult truths about conditions which could affect the health of our daughters long after we’re both gone.

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