If you want your child to grow taller, don't skip the two golden stages.

The first 1,000 days of life determine 60% of a child's height growth potential, and puberty has great potential to overcome growth retardation.

According to tDr. Phan Bich Nga,Director of the Center for Nutritional Counseling, Rehabilitation and Obesity Control,National Institute of Nutrition, pMost Vietnamese children are born with the same length as children born in other countries around the world (over 50 cm).

From the age of three onwards, the height gap between Vietnamese children gradually widens and is gradually left behind by children in the world.The average height of Vietnamese adults is currently among the lowest in Asia and even lower than European countries..

Understanding the stages of children's height growth along with factors affecting height, especially proper nutrition, parents can take timely interventions to help children achieve optimal height.

Appropriate interventions, especially a proper nutritional regimen, help children develop optimal height. Illustration: NP

Children have two periods of outstanding physical development: the first 1,000 days of life (from the time in the womb to 24 months of age) and puberty. During this period, if children are provided with adequate nutrition and a healthy living environment, they will reach optimal height.

The first 1,000 days of life

This stage determines 60% of a child's future height growth potential.Children can grow 25 cm in the first year and 10 cm each year for the next two years, if properly and adequately nourished.

During the period under 12 months of age, children reach their fastest growth rate. By their first birthday, their lying length (their height) has increased by one and a half times compared to their birth length.

Many studies show that in developing countries, including Vietnam, the period when children are at highest risk of malnutrition is 1-2 years old. The rate of malnutrition remains high until the age of five. Malnutrition in the first two years of life will affect physical development, especially the height of children in adolescence. The brain development of these children will also be worse than other children.

Children under two years old are in a transitional stage of nutrition (weaning and then gradually moving to eating meals with the family), and at the same time, children are susceptible to infectious diseases, especially diarrhea and respiratory infections. Therefore, during this stage, children need to be cared for more carefully.

After the age of two, height growth is not too fast, about 6.2 cm per year, bone density also increases about 1% per year in both boys and girls. A nutritious diet will continue to support the healthy development of bones, creating a premise for height development during puberty.

Puberty

During this stage, the body has a lot of potential to overcome the stunted growth caused by malnutrition in previous stages.Puberty (12-18 years) is characterized by rapid growth in both muscles, skeleton and sexual functions. Children will reach the peak of their height growth rate when they can increase about 10-15 cm per year and the growth rate gradually decreases after that.

From the age of 10, girls' height increases by 10 cm each year and gradually increases until reaching 15 cm a year at the age of 12. Boys' growth rate peaks at the age of 12 (10 cm per year) and reaches its maximum at the age of 14 (15 cm per year). Growth rate gradually decreases around the age of 15 in girls and 17 in boys.The time of strongest height development in women is 8-17 years old, determining 23% of average height in adults.

The role of diet becomes even more important for the physical development of children during this period. The main nutrients for growth and development include protein, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, iodine and zinc. In addition, there is also the role of GH hormone and sex hormones.

Many studies also show that in the following years, when the body is fed properly, actively exercises in a healthy environment and lifestyle, human height continues to increase slightly until the age of 25 in women and 28 in men.

According to VNE