The growth of children is the result of the interaction of genetics and environment. The height of the body is mainly governed by polygenic genetic factors, but acquired factors such as nutrition, disease, and psychology can also have an impact on height. Genetics cannot be changed, but hormonal regulation, nutritional regulation and reasonable exercise before epiphysis closure will promote height growth.
The growth of human height mainly goes through four stages: neonatal period, infancy, pre-puberty and adolescence, among which the infancy period from 29 days after birth to 3 years old and the adolescence period when secondary sexual characteristics start to develop to full maturity are the two most obvious stages.
If the height growth is less than 4cm per year, it means that there is a growth disorder, so you should go to a regular hospital for treatment as soon as possible.
The ideal time to solve the height problem is one or two years before the second sex characteristics start to develop.
Girls are generally between 8 and 13 years old, with an average of 11 years old; boys are slightly later by about two years. The height of adolescents during puberty can increase by 8 to 12 cm per year, and their weight increases by about 8 to 11 kg in two years, a phenomenon known as adolescent growth. The growth of adolescents slows down significantly after sexual maturity, and the epiphysis closes completely at the age of 18 to 20, when the best opportunity for height increase treatment has been lost.
What factors determine height
The final height of a person, in fact, consists of two parts, a part of about 80%, is the growth of youth before development, and 20% is the process of youthful development, the birth of the person is about 50 centimeters, one year old is about 75 centimeters, after the annual growth of about 5 centimeters, until the youthful development of a violent jump, this jump varies from person to person, most boys Most boys grow to about 30 centimeters, and girls are about 25 centimeters, which is the growth of youth development.
The degree of height growth has a lot to do with bone age. Bone age is not dependent on age and growth rate changes, but is an independent growth indicator, representing the maturity of human growth. If the bone age is greater than the height age, no matter how young the child is, it means that the bones have a shorter growth time, indicating a short stature in the future.
Indiscriminate use of supplements is counterproductive
Weight reflects the nutritional status of the body. Under a certain height standard, if the weight exceeds the standard weight, it means that the body does not lack nutrition, even if the supplementation will not have an impact on height; if the weight is lower than the standard weight, it means a lack of nutrition, and at this time, nutrition can be used to promote height. But do not blindly use drugs or supplements to prevent misuse of steroid hormones. Although such drugs can increase height in the short term, they can cause children to end up short because they promote epiphyseal closure at the same time.
Deficiencies of specific nutrients can prevent the growth of specific tissues. For example, zinc deficiency can cause impaired growth, vitamin A deficiency can make bones shorter and thicker, vitamin C deficiency can lead to defective interstitial bone cell formation and brittleness, and vitamin D deficiency can cause insufficient bone mineralization and bone softening. Therefore, to ensure that children get enough energy and nutrients, the diet structure must be balanced.
Currently, there are many treatments available, but the risk of broken bones for height increase is high. What is the correct and appropriate treatment for improper use of height enhancement drugs that inhibit growth? How can we find the right and appropriate treatment
To find the right method, we must first clarify whether the lack of height is physiological or pathological.
According to the national or a certain region, an average height is calculated through a large sample, and children who are two standard deviations above the average height are called taller or taller, and those who are two standard deviations below this value are called dwarf children, which is actually a distribution curve. Within this curve, all children are called normal children. There are only those who are taller or shorter. The dwarfism we want to treat is actually at the last two standard deviations outside of the normal distribution. These are determined by the clinician’s special laboratory diagnosis and other special measures.
Therefore, as a parent, you should not blindly give your child medication. It is best to take your child to the hospital for a clear diagnosis before treatment.
There are ways to treat height increase
For children who are not nutritionally deficient, height increase treatment is mainly achieved through hormone regulation. Hormone regulation includes insulin, thyroid hormone, sex hormone, glucocorticoid and growth factor regulation.
Insulin can promote growth either directly through insulin receptor and post-receptor information pathway transduction or indirectly by acting on other growth regulating substances. Thyroid hormone has effects on both bone and cartilage. In thyroid hormone deficiency, bone maturation is delayed and growth rate is reduced, leading to short stature, while in thyroid hormone excess, bone conversion and growth rate are accelerated, promoting early bone maturation, which also leads to eventual short stature. Physiological doses of glucocorticoids will promote rapid synthesis of growth hormone, but long-term overdose of glucocorticoids will inhibit growth.
Since growth hormone is mainly secreted at night, and the amount of growth hormone secreted during ripe sleep accounts for more than half of the total amount secreted throughout the day, children must develop the habit of going to bed early.
Children with short stature should first go to a regular hospital to clarify whether they are normal children with short stature or due to chronic diseases, growth hormone deficiency or malnutrition. For children with normal short stature, jumping rope, jumping and other jumping exercises are good choices to promote growth.