The golden time to 'fertilize' your child to grow taller

Many parents make the mistake of stuffing their children with food all the time, hoping they will grow tall without knowing the golden time to "fertilize" them, so short children remain short.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Danh Tuyen, Director of the National Institute of Nutrition, said that for a long time there have been two opposing views when talking about factors affecting children's height.

The first group believes that a child's height is due to genetics and prenatal factors, the other group believes that it is due to the impact of external factors.

"In fact, most biologists agree that body growth is influenced by both genetic and external factors, especially nutrition," Associate Professor Tuyen shared.

In which basic height is due to genetics, but if nutritional and environmental conditions are not satisfied, the level of development will not be commensurate with genetic potential.

1,000 days of decision

Associate Professor Tuyen said that modern medicine recognizes that external factors, especially nutrition in the first 1,000 golden days of life, play a decisive role in a child's future height.

The height achieved at age 3 will determine the height of the child when he or she becomes an adult. In which, nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life plays a decisive role among external factors.

1,000 days from conception to age 2. This is divided into 3 stages: 9 months of pregnancy, 1 year of life and 365 days of the 2nd year.

"This is the stage that requires active intervention for adults to reach their genetic potential height. Missing out on good care in the first 1,000 golden days of life is something that cannot be compensated for," Associate Professor Tuyen emphasized.

Especially for children, WHO recognizes that height achieved at age 3 will determine adult height.

Specifically, if a 3-year-old child is severely stunted and only 81.2cm tall, then by adulthood he will only be a maximum of 158cm tall (even if he is well cared for later). A mildly stunted child who is 89.3cm tall at 3 years old will only reach a maximum of 167.3cm later, and a normal child who is 94.5cm tall at 3 years old will reach 170.9cm.

In those 1,000 golden days, we must mention the role of breast milk - a valuable source of nutrition and the first natural vaccine that most effectively protects life.

"Serious scientific studies show that cow's milk (formula milk) is the culprit of infection, diarrhea and increases the mortality rate of children under 1 year old (infant mortality rate - IMR is 12 times higher than the group that breastfeeds)," Associate Professor Tuyen informed.

What interventions in the first 1,000 days?

Children everywhere have the potential to develop fully mentally and reach their full height if they are optimally nurtured.

During pregnancy, pregnant women need to minimize prolonged energy deficiency, which can help reduce the risk of disease for the fetus by 1/3. Pregnant women should eat a variety of foods, drink enough essential micronutrients and rest properly.

When born, babies must be breastfed within the first hour after birth and exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months of life. There is no need to give babies other foods/drinks, including water.

From the 7th month, children need to be fed enough solid and solid foods of guaranteed quality and continue to be breastfed until 24 months of age so that they can continue to develop healthily.

According to Associate Professor Tuyen, in Vietnam, nearly 50% of parents make the mistake of giving their children solid foods too early and often without enough nutrients.

That means children are not eating the right and adequate amount of the necessary foods (rich in iron, animal protein, vegetables, milk, cereals and vegetable oils).

Talking about the role of sports practice, Associate Professor Tuyen said that this is a necessary activity to improve health and endurance but it is not the key to increasing height.

According to Vietnamnet