Children’s height is always one of the top concerns for parents. Height not only affects their appearance but also is closely related to their health and overall development throughout childhood and adolescence. Many factors can influence a child’s height. In this article, CentiUP will help you understand these factors from the perspective of experts.
1. Golden Growth Periods for Children’s Height
According to studies by experts, there are two golden periods in children’s height development. During these two periods, if parents can focus on caring for the factors that affect height growth of children, it can help them achieve their desired height in the future.
1.1. The first 1000 days
During pregnancy, the mother’s nutritional and psychological status greatly influences the height of the fetus. This is also the period when the fetus’s bone structure begins to develop. Therefore, mothers need to supplement their food with enough calcium to create the best conditions for the baby’s height development at birth.
During the period from 0 to 2 years old, children grow rapidly, about 25cm in the first 12 months and about 10cm in the next year. To achieve this growth, parents need to focus on nutrition, sleep, and health care for their children. Breastfeeding for the first six months and introducing solid foods afterward are effective ways to ensure a children’s height development.
1.2. Puberty
This is the final stage for significant height growth in children. This period usually occurs between 12 and 18 years old for girls and between 10 and 16 years old for boys. During puberty, children can grow from 8-12cm per year. In this crucial period, parents need to provide a balanced and healthy diet, especially adequate calcium and vitamin D for bone development and enough protein for muscle building.
2. The Growth Process of Children’s Height
Children continuously grow in height from infancy to adulthood. This growth results from changes in the growth plates in the long bones of the limbs. Height increases as growth plates produce new bone.
According to experts, infants typically increase their height by 50% in the first few years. Children ages 2-5 usually grow between 6.3-6.9cm per year. From age 10, the average height increase is about 6.3 cm per year. During the adolescent years, from 11 to 18, children can increase their height by 15-20%.
However, after this stage, growth plate closures occur, and the body stops growing taller. According to natural laws, the body gradually loses height as it ages.
3. What factors affect height of children?
Several factors influence children’s height, including nutrition, genetic inheritance, physical activity, sleep, hormones, and gender. Let’s explore each factor carefully with CentiUP!
3.1. Nutrition
Nutrition is one of the most important factor that parents can intervene in influencing children’s height. If the diet is not balanced or lacks essential nutrients, children may not achieve their ideal height.
Mothers, during pregnancy, should pay attention to nutrition. The World Health Organization recommends that pregnant women should supplement their diet with various foods such as meat, fish, milk, nuts, beans, green vegetables, and fruits.
Nutrition experts recommend that children and adolescents maintain a balanced, varied, and nutritious diet, including various vegetables and fruits. This will ensure that your child’s body can get enough vitamins and minerals needed to develop.
In particular, parents should pay attention to providing children with calcium and protein to develop bones and muscles. Some protein-rich foods include meat, fish, eggs, milk, nuts, and beans. Meanwhile, calcium is found in milk, dairy products, cheese, kale, broccoli, soybeans, oranges, salmon and sardines.
3.2. Genetic Inheritance
This is one of the most significant factors influencing children’s height. During development, the height growth rate may vary for each individual and is often affected by genetic inheritance from parents.
DNA plays a crucial role in determining height, and scientists have identified over 700 genetic variations related to height. Some genes determine the production of growth hormones, while others determine the development of growth plates.
The average height range can vary significantly depending on ethnic background, country, etc. Genetic factors can determine a significant percentage, about 23%.
3.3. Physical Activity
Children nowadays often spend a lot of time studying or engaging in indoor recreational activities such as watching TV, using phones, or playing video games, which may affect the time they spend playing and exercising. Regular physical activity plays an important role in helping children develop naturally, strengthen bones, and build muscle mass.
Among the factors that affect height growth, exercise is considered a factor that can powerfully stimulate the production of growth hormone (GH) in the body.
Participating in sports activities will help children improve bone density, increase muscle mass, and achieve optimal height. Experts encourage children to engage in appropriate physical activities such as massage and swimming when they are young. Children can participate in outdoor activities such as jogging and playing football with friends when they get older. This not only helps children create opportunities to absorb sunlight but also helps children move their arms and legs harmoniously and flexibly and develop muscles.
3.4. Sleep
Sleep is one of the important factors that affect height growth of children and adolescents. During deep sleep, the child’s body will produce the necessary hormones to promote development. It makes getting enough sleep important for optimal height growth.
On the contrary, lack of sleep for a long time can affect development, cause health problems for children, reduce the ability to concentrate, and reduce the energy to perform learning and daily activities of children.
Quality and sufficient sleep greatly affect height, promoting children’s growth and development. Therefore, parents need to build habits of sleeping on time, sleeping deeply, and avoiding distractions that disrupt children’s sleep.
3.5. Hormones
Hormones operating under the regulation of genes are one of the factors that most clearly affect height. If there is a lack of hormones or the endocrine system does not work effectively, children may have metabolic disorders, delayed puberty, and slow growth. This directly affects the children’s height.
From birth to adulthood, the human body can continuously produce hormones. They act as a signal that activates the growth plates to create new bone. Some hormones that affect height are Growth Hormone HGH, Sex Hormone, and Thyroid Hormone.
3.6. Gender
Gender is an easily noticeable factor when it comes to factors affecting children’s height. Before puberty, boys tend to be shorter than girls by about 0.5-1 cm. After puberty, males grow to be taller than females by 10-15 cm.
Children’s height is a long-term development process that requires parents’ perseverance. Understanding the factors affecting children’s height, parents need to coordinate efforts to focus on caring for and nurturing the factors that parents can intervene in to help children achieve optimal height and reach their genetic potential. As wise parents, create the best conditions for your children’s comprehensive development!
CentiUP – UNLOCK GROWTH POTENTIAL
CentiUP, as a heightened child formula, with the trio of Nano Calcium, HMO, and DHA mixed in the golden ratio, combined with Micro nano technology to help nourish the body deeply and comprehensively, helps children increase height, boost brain power, and improve the immune system and overall well-being.
The product is for children from 3 to 18 years old and is especially suitable for children with stunted growth, malnutrition, and those experiencing delayed height development.
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