2 golden stages of children's height growth

Most newborn Vietnamese children are of the same length as other countries, but from the age of 3, the gap gradually widens and they are left behind by the world because parents do not have timely intervention measures.

Dr. Phan Bich Nga, Director of the Center for Nutritional Rehabilitation and Obesity Control, National Institute of Nutrition, said that the average height of Vietnamese adults is currently among the shortest in Asia and is far behind European countries, even though the program to prevent child malnutrition has been implemented for decades.

Dr. Phan Bich Nga

Compared to other countries in Southeast Asia, Vietnamese people are only slightly taller than Indonesians, men are 0.4 cm shorter than Cambodians, and women are 0.2 cm shorter.

According to Ms. Nga, in addition to causes such as lack of micronutrients, polluted environment, bacteria, chemical impact... there is also a part due to parents not understanding the two golden stages of children's height growth to "promote" proper nutrition. Because in reality, each person's height only depends on 20% of genetic factors.

The first 1,000 days of life

Dr. Nga said that the first 1,000 days of life (from conception to 24 months of age) is the golden period for outstanding height and physical development.

If properly and adequately nourished, during this stage, children can grow 25cm in the first year and 10cm each year in the next 2 years. This is the stage that determines 60% of a child's future height growth.

In particular, the stage of young children under 12 months of age reaches the fastest growth rate compared to all other stages. Children can double their birth weight within the first 4-5 months and triple their birth weight by the end of the first year. By the time they are 1 year old, their lying length (ie their height) has increased by one and a half times compared to their birth length.

Children under 2 years old are also in a transitional stage in nutrition (weaning and then gradually switching to eating meals with the family), and are also susceptible to infectious diseases, especially diarrhea and respiratory infections.

Therefore, during this period, children need to be taken care of more carefully. In the first 6 months, children should be breastfed exclusively, from the 7th month, start supplementing with nutritious solid foods and continue breastfeeding until 24 months.

This is also the stage when children are at highest risk of malnutrition. Malnutrition in the first 2 years of life will affect their brain and physical development, especially their height in adolescence.

After 2 years old, growth rate is not too fast, about 6.2 cm/year, bone density also only increases by about 1%/year in both boys and girls.

However, having a nutritious diet will continue to support the healthy development of bones, which is a prerequisite for height growth during puberty.

Puberty

Growth rate during puberty (12-18 years old) is fast in both height and weight, at peak it can reach 10-15cm/year.

Starting at age 10, girls grow about 10 cm in height each year and gradually increase until reaching 15 cm a year at age 12. Boys' growth rate peaks at age 12 (10 cm/year) and reaches its maximum at age 14 (15 cm/year). From age 15 in girls and age 17 in boys, growth rate gradually decreases.

Starting at age 10, a child's height begins to increase rapidly and can peak at 15cm/year.

The period from 8 to 17 years old will determine 23% of adult height. Bone size, bone mass and mineral density in each bone increase about 4% each year from the age of 8 until adolescence.

Therefore, at this stage, children need to be provided with all the main nutrients for growth and development, including protein, iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin D, iodine and zinc. In addition, there is also the role of GH hormone and sex hormones.

During this stage, the body has a lot of potential to overcome the growth retardation caused by malnutrition in previous stages.

However, Dr. Nga noted that the use of hormone replacement drugs should only be used in cases where children have undergone close clinical and paraclinical examinations for definitive diagnosis. Absolutely do not use them on your own as it will be ineffective and life-threatening.

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

According to VNN