Ten factors that affect the size of children
How tall can my child grow? Every mother has this question in her heart. So, let’s see what are the key factors that determine the future height of the child! What should parents do?
How to predict your child’s adult height
One is genetic target height, which is a rough calculation of the child’s final height determined by the genetic background based on the height of the parents. Specifically, the average of the parents’ heights is taken and 6.5 cm is added to estimate the height of the boy and 6.5 cm is subtracted to estimate the height of the girl. This method of prediction is not very accurate and is only for reference. There is also a more used height prediction formula: boy’s adult height (M) = (father’s height + mother’s height)/2 x 1.08; girl’s adult height (M) = (father’s height x 0.923 + mother’s height)/2.
How does a child grow taller?
The human body grows from about 50 cm at birth to 180 cm, which is actually a process of continuous cell division and proliferation and nutrient metabolism.
The human body grows taller as a result of the growth of bones. Bone cells change from one to two, two to four, four to eight, and keep dividing and growing, which brings about the growth of bones. This process is known as cell proliferation in medical science. The rate of human growth depends on the rate of cell proliferation. We all know that the human body grows at different rates at different times. A child’s growth rate is fastest until the age of 5, when it grows 20 centimeters per year, and stabilizes at about 6 centimeters per year by the age of 5. At puberty, the growth rate accelerates to 10 cm per year, and then it basically stops. Why is this? Scientists have found that the rate of cell proliferation is closely related to growth mediators. The more growth mediators the pituitary gland secretes, the faster the cells proliferate. It is not surprising that the human body secretes different growth mediators at different times, so the growth rate is different.
What are the factors that affect a child’s height?
1.Lack of core nutrition affects children’s height
If it is said that Chinese children are shorter than Japanese children, people probably will not believe it, however, researchers’ statistics show that the average height of 7-year-old boys and girls in China is 0.6 cm and 0.5 cm shorter than that of Japanese children of the same age, respectively, and the average male and female adolescents aged 15 to 18 years old are l.4 cm and 0.6 cm shorter than their Japanese counterparts.
What is the reason for this difference? Genetics accounts for only one-third of the factors that determine height, while environmental conditions account for two-thirds. Among the acquired conditions, lysine, zinc, calcium and other core nutrients are the most critical. According to the 1998 report of the State General Administration of Sports “China’s adult physical fitness monitoring report”, China’s men over 40 years of age than the average height of Japanese men of the same age 1.2 cm, men under 39 years of age is lower than the Japanese men of the same age 0.68 cm, the Chinese over 40 years of age height advantage has become a thing of the past. The results of the fourth national nutrition survey show that Chinese children’s intake of lysine, zinc, calcium and other core nutrients is seriously inadequate.
In 2004, the Ministry of Health announced the results of a nutrition survey, which showed that the average daily calcium intake from food was only 41% of the daily requirement, with a deficit of 59%, and children were even lower than this figure. A survey of zinc deficiency in a large number of children in China shows that the zinc deficiency rate is 93.90% for infants within 1 year, 86.70% for 1-2 years, 72.90% for 2-4 years, and 34.60% for 4-7 years. Lysine is the first deficiency amino acid. There are 22 amino acids in the human body, 8 of which cannot be synthesized by the human body and can only be obtained from food, making it the first deficiency amino acid. It is urgent to supplement core nutrition for children!
2. Core nutrition is involved in child growth
Lysine is a very effective promoter of growth mediator secretion.
Numerous experiments at home and abroad have proven that adequate lysine supplementation in humans can stimulate the pituitary gland to increase the secretion of growth interferon. These studies also measured the biomolecular indicators related to bone growth, such as ALP (bone alkaline phosphatase), IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor), TGF-b (transfer growth factor), OC (osteocalcin), NO (nitric oxide), etc. These active factors, which are produced and secreted by bone cells, were significantly increased by lysine. These factors, which are secreted by osteoblasts, were significantly increased by lysine. This indicates that lysine has the effect of activating osteoblast proliferation and stimulating its functional activity.
3.Zinc is directly involved in DNA replication
Studies on the involvement of zinc in DNA replication have shown that in the absence of zinc, the rate of DNA replication per unit time is significantly slowed down and the amount of DNA synthesis is also significantly reduced, thus slowing down or halting cell division. The elucidation of this cellular molecular mechanism of zinc finally reveals the secret of why zinc deficiency leads to growth arrest.
The human body contains about 1300 g of calcium, 99% of which is found in the bones and teeth. Therefore, calcium is not only the main functional component of bones and teeth, but also the reservoir of calcium in the body. Bones can be hard and strong without the biomineralization of calcium. As you can imagine, a calcium-deficient skeleton becomes soft and deformed, and there is no way for a child to grow.
Key factors
4, parents’ age of childbirth affects the child’s height
Studies have shown that the height of a person is determined by a number of factors. For example, the number of children in the family, as well as the order of birth of children will affect the child’s height.
The parents’ education level and work also affect the height of children, for example, the average height of children born to parents engaged in strong mental labor is higher than the offspring of manual laborers; urbanization also indirectly affects the height of children, for example, children in urban areas mature earlier and are physically better than children in rural areas, and improved nutritional environment is one of the important factors. In addition, the age of the parents at the time of childbirth also affects the height of the child. Recommended: Growth: Seize the good time to grow taller
5, poor sleep will affect the child’s height
In recent years, a large number of research studies have confirmed: the amount of growth hormone secreted by short children is much less than normal children, and a significant proportion of children are due to lack of sleep at night. As children from childhood to pre-puberty, during sleep secretion, 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. the next day, the amount of secreted growth hormone is three times more than 12 hours during the day, especially at 9 p.m. 70 minutes after going to sleep, there can be a peak secretion. In view of this, children should not stay up late.
6, children lack of maternal love affect height
Some expert research found that emotional disorders can also affect height.
If a child grows up in the environment of lack of family warmth, do not get sufficient maternal love, then his height is often shorter than children of the same age, foreign countries call this kind of short people for emotional blocking short stature disorder, some information called “love blocking syndrome”.
The main reason for this is that the hypothalamus and pituitary system are inhibited by emotions, which causes a decrease in the secretion of growth hormone from the pituitary gland. In addition to short height, children with this disorder also have abnormal behaviors such as delayed intellectual development, excessive drinking, excessive eating, soliloquy, hyperactivity, and incompatibility in interpersonal relationships. Children with emotional blockage generally have trouble sleeping, lack a sense of security, and sometimes wake up screaming or crying in their dreams, which can affect the quality of sleep. Children’s growth hormone, hormone, is only secreted in the deep sleep period and the mature sleep period, therefore, children who sleep restlessly and wake up easily, the secretion of this growth hormone may be greatly inhibited, which is also one of the important reasons why children do not grow taller.
7, children’s precocious puberty affect height
The parents should find out early that the child is precocious and take the child to a regular hospital for specialist treatment as early as possible. During the summer vacation, the number of outpatients in pediatric endocrine dwarf specialist in each hospital has increased significantly. According to Xu Xuan, the deputy director of our pediatric endocrinology specialty, the standard of living is improving and urban children are developing at an earlier age, so if the bone age is too advanced, it will affect the child’s final height and parents should pay attention to it.
It is reported that a large proportion of patients with precocious puberty in our dwarf specialty. A mother brought her 9-year-old daughter to the hospital. The mother said her daughter’s breasts started to develop when she was 7 and a half years old, and she came to the hospital a year and a half later when she had her first menstrual period. As a result, the doctor found that the girl’s bone age was more than 12 years old. The doctor’s analysis said, because the consultation time was delayed for a year, and the bone age in this year time has grown much more than a year, the girl will not grow taller than 10 cm, so the 9-year-old child is now 140 cm, the final height is unlikely to exceed 150 cm. Hot recommendation: the food that leads to “precocious puberty” in children.
8, genetics has the absolute right to influence height
Although humans still can not understand the secrets of heredity, but in this point of height, heredity has the “absolute right”. The child’s family history is the No. 1 factor affecting his adult height. Take a look at the parents’ height, body type, and assess the child’s growth and development, you will probably be able to know his adult height.
9.Healthy and comprehensive diet affects height
The importance of nutrition is undeniable, if the child’s growth process does not get a balanced supply of nutrition, in other words, if his food intake is not healthy, comprehensive, then he will not get the normal growth and development. It is difficult to do this, because parents can not be like a nutritionist to develop a standard nutritional recipe for their children, but it is important to note that parents should at least be healthy in the food they provide for their children.
Often the problem is that parents restrict the amount of food their child eats in order to prevent him from becoming “chubby” (infants, no matter how fat, should not use restrictive recipes). Also, too much juice or carbonated drinks can interfere with the child’s appetite, thus reducing his absorption of nutrients. Hot recommendation: long tall meal, congenital deficiencies after the day to make up.
10.Physiological diseases: Also beware of the side effects of drugs
Some children are born with a serious physical disease, if not treated in a timely manner, it will hinder growth and development. The most common are: gastrointestinal system disorders, such as celiac disease; food allergies; thyroid problems; lack of hormone production; heart, kidney or liver disease; or a chromosomal abnormality. Another thing to be aware of is the side effects of certain medications in the treatment of disease that can also hinder development, such as Ritalin and other stimulant medications that have been found to have developmental effects in the treatment of ADHD. Therefore, if a particular medication is needed, it is important to choose the prescription and dosage carefully.
What is dwarfism? Is it a disease?
Dwarfism is a condition in which a child’s height is below the 3rd percentile of the growth curve or two standard deviations below the normal mean.
Dwarfism is partly caused by organic diseases and partly caused by non-diseases.
Disease causes include endocrine abnormalities, skeletal lesions or other diseases, with growth hormone deficiency being the most common. This is followed by short stature due to precocious puberty, and some due to intrauterine growth retardation or chromosomal abnormalities.
Non-disease induced dwarfism includes familial dwarfism, somatic dwarfism, and delayed physiological puberty.
Children with dwarfism require tests such as bone age evaluation, growth hormone measurement and thyroid hormone measurement to make a definitive diagnosis. The treatment of dwarfism includes etiological treatment, such as treatment with growth hormone, in addition to adequate sleep, balanced nutrition and exercise to help height growth. Children with dwarfism should not abuse health care products. Some health care products have added sex hormones or certain herbal ingredients to promote sexual development and cause accelerated growth, but at the same time, children’s bone age is advanced and premature epiphyseal closure will affect the child’s final height, so only through detailed examination to find out the cause. Only then will the best time for treatment be missed.
How can I confirm if there is a problem with my child’s height?
To determine whether a child’s height is normal, its height is compared with the standard height of normal children of the same race, age and sex. This standard height is calculated from the physical measurements of a large number of representative healthy children and can be expressed by the standard deviation method or the percentile method, as shown in the table below. Children whose height is lower than the mean value of healthy children of the same age and sex minus 2 standard deviations or below the third percentile are considered to be of short stature. Generally speaking, the growth rate is less than 7 cm/year in infancy (under 3 years old), 4-5 cm/year in childhood (3 years old – puberty), and 5.5-6.5 cm/year in adolescence, which is considered as growth retardation. Children with short stature often have low self-esteem, which affects their physical and mental health and intellectual development, lacking the courage to communicate with others or participate in social activities, reducing their chances of career success and limiting the scope of future employment. Therefore, children with short stature should go to the hospital for further diagnosis and treatment.