Researchers have unveiled that if parents have smoked when their children were toddlers then there are more chances that they would have a wider waits and an increased BMI by the time they will get 10 years old.

Study's lead researcher Professor Linda Pagani said that by the time children gets 10 years old who has been exposed to smoke were having increased chance of having waits that were up to three-tenths of an inch wider than their peers. Their BMI scores were likely to be between .48 and .81 points higher.

The researchers have said that the link is as significant as the influence of smoking during pregnancy. As per a data, 40% of children are exposed to secondhand smoke in their own homes.

For the study, the researchers have used data from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. It is a survey of children born in the province to which parents and teachers have contributed information with regard to child's development, wellbeing, lifestyle, social environment and behavior.

Comparative analysis of the behavior of 2055 families and the outcomes for their children was carried out. Weight gain was not much, but it happens during an important period of the child's development.

"Early childhood exposure to second hand smoke could be influencing endocrine imbalances and altering neurodevelopmental functioning at this critical period in hypothalamic development, thus damaging vital systems which undergo important postnatal growth and development until middle childhood", said the researchers.