Liu Hua, a child health doctor at Wuhan Children's Hospital, analyzed the growth and development of their children with parents based on height standards.
Photo by Wang Chunlan, reporter of Changjiang Daily
□ Yangtze River Daily reporter Wang Chunlan and correspondent Gao Chenchen
The latest "Growth Standards for Children Under 7 Years of Age" issued by the National Health Commission came into effect on March 1. Compared to the previous version, the height "standard value" of children of most age groups has increased.
At present, Wuhan medical institutions have not received a notice to "refresh" height standards clinically. However, worried that the child's height will not catch up with the increase in the "standard", some parents go to the hospital early for consultation. In this regard, pediatricians said that children's height has congenital factors and acquired effects. Parents can reasonably expect, pay close attention, and actively intervene to help their children grow taller as much as possible.
■ The new standard is "slightly higher" than the Wuhan clinical adoption standard
On March 4, in front of the triage desk of the child health department on the 6th floor of the outpatient clinic of Wuhan Children's Hospital, many parents held their children and waited.
Ms. Zhang, a 29-year-old citizen, brought her daughter to check on her growth and development. Before the child is half a year old, he must come to the child for a physical examination every month, measuring height, weight, head circumference and other data. The child is now 10 months old and comes in for a check-up every two months. The whole family is very concerned about the height and weight of the child.
"Today's children are well nourished and taller as adults. My husband and I are not short among our peers, but we are also worried that our daughter will not be as tall as her peers in the future. Ms. Zhang said that as a mother, she is very concerned about the change in children's height standards.
Xiao Fang, an expert in the Department of Child Health at Wuhan Children's Hospital, has been engaged in child health care for many years. She told the Yangtze River Daily reporter that at present, she and her colleagues still use the "Nine Cities Standard" in clinical practice. This version was developed by the Growth and Development Laboratory of the Capital Institute of Pediatrics based on the data of the 2005 Nine Cities Children's Physical Development Survey, and the reference age range is 0 to 18 years old.
Xiao Fang introduced that since 1975, the state has organized physical surveys on children in nine cities and suburban villages including Beijing, Harbin, Xi'an, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Guangzhou and Kunming every 10 years, and obtained the reference standard for children's growth and development (commonly known as the "nine-city standard"), which belongs to the larger sample survey nationwide and is more in line with the growth and development of children in the mainland.
"The median of most age groups (i.e., "standard height") in the new criteria released this time has increased compared to the current clinical standard. Taking a 6-year-old girl as an example, the previous standard height median was 116.6 cm, and the new standard reached 117.5 cm, an increase of 0.9 cm; the previous standard height of a 6-year-old boy was 117.7 cm, and the new standard reached 118.8 cm, an increase of 1.1 cm. Xiao Fang believes that this is related to factors such as the increase in children's nutrition and exercise.
■ The baby is only two years old, and parents are already worried about height
Liu Hua, a child health doctor at Wuhan Children's Hospital, is often too busy to drink water when she sits at the "Child Growth and Development" outpatient clinic. "I recently met the youngest baby who was only two years old." Liu Hua said that the baby is a boy, the father is 1.66 meters tall, the mother is 1.58 meters tall, and the baby is 50 centimeters long when he is born, which is very standard. However, after the baby can walk, the parents find that he is shorter than toddlers of the same age. He is now two years and one month old and 83 centimeters tall. After inquiring about the child's height standard, it was found that the child was at the middle and lower level of children of the same age, and the parents hurriedly came to consult how to make the child grow taller.
"According to the current standard, the standard height of a two-year-old boy is 88.5 centimeters, and this baby is indeed short. After I asked about my daily life, I found that the child's physique was weak, and he frequently fell ill after the age of one, which affected the level of growth and development and affected the growth and height. Liu Hua said.
On the other hand, children's adult height is related to genetics, sleep, nutrition, exercise, mood and other factors, but genetic factors have a greater impact. According to the formula of "boy's height = (father's height + mother's height + 13 cm) ÷2±5 cm", under normal circumstances, children will be between 1.64 meters and 1.74 meters tall in adulthood, and the probability of growing into a tall person over 1.8 meters is not large.
Therefore, Liu Hua suggested that the parents adjust their feeding methods, try to strengthen their child's resistance, ensure balanced nutrition, appropriate activities, and do their best to help him grow taller; It is best to record the height of the child every year and pay attention to the growth curve, especially the height growth trend of the two rapid growth periods. "The first rapid growth period is infancy between the ages of 0 and 3. The average newborn is 50 centimeters long, and its height soars by about 45 centimeters within 3 years of birth. Among them, it can grow 25 cm tall in the first year, and an average of 10 cm per year thereafter. The second period of rapid growth is the pre-adolescence, when the child will suddenly rise in size. Girls are mostly between 11 and 13 years old, while boys are mostly between 13 and 15 years old. In these two years, girls can grow an average of 7 cm to 10 cm per year, and boys can grow an average of 8 cm to 12 cm per year. ”
■ Obesity accelerates bone age and affects children's growth
In fact, in the latest "Growth Standards for Children Under 7 Years of Age" released by the National Health Commission, there are not only height standards for different ages, but also weight standards. Liu Hua said: "Parents are more concerned about whether their children's height is up to standard, but ignore their children's weight indicators. In fact, weight and body mass index (i.e. BMI = body weight ÷ height 2) are also important. BMI can reflect the evenness of body shape and is used to determine whether you are overweight and obese. Obesity can also affect taller growth. ”
He analyzed that with the improvement of living standards, parents pay more and more attention to the nutritional level of children, but some children eat well, move less, and are obviously fat. If the child is too obese, the risk of accelerated bone age increases, which "shortens" the time period for growing taller and affects the final height of adulthood. Obese children are also prone to high blood pressure, hyperinsulinemia, fatty liver, atherosclerosis and other diseases, leaving health risks. In addition, some children may also affect mental health due to obesity, which can also affect the child's endocrine status, which in turn affects height growth.
Liu Hua suggested that parents should also pay attention to their children's weight and regularly monitor bone age, which can be monitored every 3 to 6 months, and every two years. "Bone age and height match, children can grow healthy and taller."
Source: Yangtze River Daily