"There is particular interest in the first origins of early development of disease - in the womb and the first couple of years of life - and these seem to predict who gets sick later on in life."
The Born in Bradford families reflect the city's ethnic diversity and around half of them are from an Asian background, a community that has some distinct health problems.
For example, around a quarter of Asian adults in Bradford are diabetic, while another quarter are pre-diabetic, putting them at high risk of developing the disease.
Battul Agha is one mother for whom diabetes is a serious worry.
Her son Rayan is one of the Born in Bradford children, but his mum says diabetes has already affected the family.
"I had gestational diabetes while I was pregnant but generations have got it - my children's grandparents, my own grandparents, my mum, some uncles have even developed it.
"So therefore we are particularly cautious about the children's health and what we feed them. We try and give them as much exercise as we can - lots of outdoor time and a healthy lifestyle."
So now the last families have been recruited, the hard work for the researchers begins.
Over the coming years they will track lives of thousands of children across Bradford and hope to provide some clues about the illnesses that affect many more millions of adults.
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