1. What factors are related to children’s height and growth rate?
A: There are many factors that affect height, such as genetics, nutrition, sports, environment, living habits, race, endocrine, early and late sexual maturity (those who mature early are on average about 5 cm shorter than those who mature late), marriage between close and distant relatives, health condition, medical progress, etc.
2. How to predict the height of children?
A: There are many factors that affect a child’s height. The growth period of a child is long and it is not possible to draw a premature conclusion whether the child will be tall or short when he or she is small. As long as the parents take care of the child, nutrition is reasonable, let the child have a good sleep, appropriate exercise, even if both parents are not too tall, the child may not necessarily not tall.
3. What are the reasons for children not growing taller?
A: Physiological and pathological reasons, such as: familial short stature, certain premature sexual development, hypothyroidism, systemic diseases, malnutrition, psychological disorders, congenital skeletal dysplasia and growth hormone deficiency caused by hypothalamic-pituitary lesions.
4. parents are not tall, what can parents do to make their children grow taller?
A: Whether the height can be as high as desired depends on several factors, first of all, genetic factors, which account for 70%, and, in addition, other conditions, including exercise, nutrition, environmental and social factors. In order to make children grow taller, parents should pay attention to the following points: ① Do not miss the rapid growth period: in the process of growth and development of children and adolescents, when the fastest height growth? There are two main periods: infancy and adolescence. In order to let children grow taller, parents should pay particular attention to the child in the rapid growth period of nutrition, exercise and other issues. ②Nutrition supplement should be paid attention to: nutrition is the key to children’s physical growth. Energy, protein and amino acids needed for normal physical growth must be supplied by food, mainly meat, eggs, beans and legumes. The formation of bone also requires adequate amounts of calcium, phosphorus and trace amounts of manganese and iron. Insufficient intake of calcium and vitamin D deficiency will cause insufficient bone mineralization, vitamin A deficiency will make the bone shorter and thicker, vitamin C deficiency will make the interstitial formation of bone cells defective and brittle, all of which will affect the growth of bone. At present, the general family in the meat and vegetables in the diet, nutrition should be comprehensive and adequate, parents should pay attention not to let children develop the habit of partial food, and do not let children eat too much snacks and affect the intake of important nutrients. ③ Do not neglect sports exercise: sports can strengthen the body’s metabolic process, accelerate blood circulation, promote the secretion of growth hormone, accelerate the growth of bone tissue, which is beneficial to human body growth. Do not forget to create a good living environment for children: abnormalities in the neuropsychiatric system can also affect the growth of children’s physique. For example, in the case of divorced parents, abnormal relationship between children and guardians, often abused, or children are subjected to other serious stimuli, their growth rate will gradually slow down, making the height below the low limit of normal height of children of the same age and sex. Short stature in turn increases the child’s low self-esteem, due to the psychological and social stimuli the child receives, which affects the transmission of nerve impulses from the cerebral cortex to the hypothalamus, thus inhibiting the secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland. When the child’s environment is improved, the growth rate can return to normal. ⑤ Don’t forget the active prevention and treatment of chronic diseases: chronic diseases in childhood and adolescence should be actively treated. Long-term diseases such as chronic infections, chronic hepatitis, chronic nephritis, asthma, heart disease, anemia, etc. can affect growth and development.
5. My child was born small, will he be short when he grows up?
A: It is possible. It depends on whether the child’s birth weight is up to standard, and if the birth weight is lower than normal, it depends on how small the birth weight is and whether the child has catch-up growth in the first 2-3 years after birth (before 3 years old). In general, about 90% of children with low birth weight will eventually reach normal height, while about 10% of children with low birth weight will end up below normal height. Therefore, strengthening the feeding and growth monitoring of low birth weight children after birth is something that parents need to focus on.
6. My child’s height grows 4-5 cm every year, but he is always shorter than his peers, could it be a late growth?
A: It is true that some children grow late for various reasons. However, with the improvement of living standards, this is less common nowadays. If your child is always shorter than other children, don’t jump to the conclusion of late growth, otherwise the best time to correct the height will be delayed, and if the child’s epiphysis closes, the opportunity to grow taller will be lost forever. It is recommended to take your child to the pediatric endocrinology department of a regular hospital for examination.
7. What is growth hormone deficiency? Can I take calcium supplements to increase height?
A: The most important factor of children’s height depends on the degree of secretion of growth hormone, not calcium. Therefore, it is meaningless for children with short stature to just listen to some TV commercials for calcium supplementation. Calcium supplementation can only increase the bone density of children and promote epiphyseal closure, which is not significant for height growth. Growth hormone deficiency, as the name implies, is a lack of sufficient amounts of growth hormone in the body. This disorder is sometimes innate, sometimes associated with problems such as intrauterine hypoxia and premature birth during fetal life, and in some cases caused by other factors such as surgery, car accidents, and other traumatic injuries during childhood or adulthood. There are also a large percentage of children who do not have a deficiency in growth hormone laboratory tests, but the lack of growth hormone activity or receptors can also cause the child to grow taller. This disease can be treated with synthetic human growth hormone injections, and if treated promptly, a more satisfactory outcome is usually achieved.