When Fan Yimei’s 11-year-old son gave up on his chess lessons to focus on fencing instead, she knew there was no point pressuring him to change his mind.

That’s because she was told months before that he would excel in sports, while more studious past-times were not in his DNA.

Her son is one of thousands of children in China who have undergone genetic testing which purportedly "reveal" what talents they will develop in later life.

"My two baby boys were also tested, and I was told they'd be good at painting," said Mrs Fan, who is from the eastern province of Zhejiang. "So I'm just going to focus on art lessons for them."

The trend in lab testing, which is prompted by pushy parents seeking to give their offspring an advantage, has seen the emergence of a growing number of "health institutes" that claim to predict if children as young as a year old will be the next Mo Farah, Lady Gaga, or Stephen Hawking.

The institutes charge hundreds of pounds to perform the tests, which involve taking a saliva swab that is then sent to laboratories. About two weeks later, parents are told whether their child is gifted in areas such as dancing, mathematics or painting.