Physical growth delay, or late growth, is more common in boys, whose parents may have a history of delayed puberty. Physical growth delay has the following characteristics: 1. Short height Most of the height and weight at birth are normal and the limbs are proportional. There is no obvious abnormality in the first few years after birth, but later growth slows down, especially in boys at the age of 10–11 years and in girls at the age of 9–10 years.
2. Delay in the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics The appearance of secondary sexual characteristics is delayed until the age of 16–18 for boys and 14–16 for girls.
3.Backward bone age Backward bone age is associated with delayed puberty initiation.
4.No deficiency of growth hormone Some children may have temporary or reversible deficiency.
5.Normal adult lifelong height After natural puberty, height growth accelerates and sexual development is completed in a gradual manner. They can reach adult lifetime height around 20 years old and have normal secondary sexual characteristics and fertility.
Generally, no treatment is needed, and it is advisable to follow the growth rate and secondary sexual characteristics development, but in practice it is difficult to make decisions. In the current society, people attach great importance to height, and when children are lower than their peers in the same class or age, parents are under great pressure and cannot resist using growth hormone. The best way to deal with this situation is to monitor the child’s secondary sex characteristics, growth rate and bone age.