Good sleep and physical exercise are crucial to the growth of a child's height

Besides genetics, what external factors influence height? For children, sleep and nutrition are crucial. In addition, height and sexual maturity, physical exercise, mental relaxation and other external factors also have a certain correlation.

A good sleep helps one's body. "Puberty is the most vigorous period of growth hormone and male hormone secretion. So teenagers need to get enough sleep, at least eight hours a night." Because the endocrine hormones that control height mainly include growth hormone secreted by the pituitary gland, luteinizing hormone and sex hormone, of which growth hormone plays the most significant role. Studies have found that when children sleep for an hour, the secretion of growth hormone exceeds the daytime by 5 to 7 times, and the secretion of sex hormones and luteinizing hormones during deep sleep is also very strong. So height is particularly closely related to sleep.

The later sexual maturity, the taller the child will grow. The age at which a child matures also affects height. In general, the children whose rapid growth occurs earlier will reach the termination point faster; What happens later also reaches its end later. When the precocious child no longer grows taller, the late-maturing child is still growing taller, so the late-maturing child will eventually be taller. The fastest growth in girls' height is in early adolescence, and the height increase can reach 7 ~ 8 cm in the year before menarche; The peak height growth of boys is the first year of puberty, and the height increase can reach 10 to 12 centimeters at the age of 13 to 14.

Exercise is important for growing taller. Physical exercise can promote the secretion of growth hormone; The second is to strengthen the blood supply of bone cells, which is conducive to promoting and improving the proliferation ability of epiphyseal cartilage. According to studies, growth hormone secretion increases significantly after exercise. At the same time, sports can also exercise muscles, bones, make the body more robust.

In the development period of children and adolescents, we must have enough physical exercise, maintain a good mood and healthy lifestyle. And children who have been severely traumatized, their growth and development will be delayed or even stalled. Because sadness and depression will not only make children susceptible to various diseases, but also affect their growth and development, and even appear "premature aging."

Ensure that children eat a balanced and nutritious diet, and do not blindly eat health products

It is generally believed that the heritability of height is as high as 70% to 80%, but a Chinese study in 2004 estimated that the heritability of height is actually only 65%, and 35% of the acquired environmental factors, so that the child's height may continue to grow.

Protein is especially important for the growth and development of children. In a sense, height is "stacked" with nutrients (especially protein). As we all know, protein is an important part of all cells and tissues in the human body, and it is also a necessary nutrient for bones. If the intake of food can provide enough of the 8 amino acids necessary for the human body, it can accelerate protein synthesis and contribute to the growth and development of all tissues and organs in the body, especially the growth and development of bones and iliac cartilage. Tests on preschoolers showed that those who added 0.5 grams of lysine to each meal of bread were significantly taller and heavier than other children. Protein-rich foods include dairy, lean meat, fish, poultry, eggs, nuts and legumes.

You can't ignore vitamins. For calcium to be deposited in bones and teeth, vitamin D must be involved. Vitamin D regulates calcium and phosphorus metabolism and promotes bone growth; Vitamin A is involved in embryo development, visual function, respiratory diseases, child growth, immune regulation and other important processes. Iron, selenium, vitamin E and so on can directly participate in the biological oxidation process, and can promote the normal development of the immune system. Only a balanced, appropriate and varied diet can provide comprehensive, balanced and rich nutrients.

How to achieve a balanced diet? Liu Change suggested: 1.0~6 months old infants adhere to exclusive breastfeeding, feeding on demand; For infants aged 7 to 24 months, the amount of milk and complementary foods should be guaranteed, and the food should be gradually diversified.

2. For preschool children (before 2 to 6 years old), the diet should focus on cultivating children's regular meals, encouraging them to drink milk every day, choosing healthy and nutritious snacks, and avoiding sugary drinks and high-fat fried foods.

3. School-age children and adolescents should have reasonable and regular meals and cultivate healthy eating behaviors; Food types, sources, colors are rich and diverse, no less than 12 kinds of food a day, do not be picky, partial food, meat and vegetable mix; Supplement with high-quality protein, including milk, fish, meat, eggs, legumes and nuts; Supplement fresh vegetables and fruits, more than 5 kinds a day, rich in color, dark vegetables account for more than half, often eat bacteria and algae; Ensure staple food and energy intake, and reasonable mix of coarse and fine staple food grains.

Excess nutrition can also cause children to lack height development. Liu Change pointed out in particular that many parents mistakenly think that their children eat more and eat better to grow taller, and continue to let their children eat too much, and even buy a lot of nutritional health products for their children. She reminded that giving children blind supplements, not only can not help children increase, but will lead to child obesity because of overnutrition, lead to premature puberty, but lead to children eventually short stature.

How to judge whether the child "size" is up to standard?

Is the child of normal height now? The child's height growth is not uniform, the younger the age the faster the growth, the fastest growth of children under 1 year old, the average length of the newborn at birth is 50cm, the first year after birth, the fastest growth of about 25cm, of which the first 3 months of about 12cm growth. The second year growth rate slows down, about 10cm, that is, the child is about 85cm long at the age of 2. After the age of 2 to adolescence, the height (length) increases steadily, increasing by 6-7cm per year, and should not be less than 5cm. In adolescence, height growth appears the second peak, and its growth rate is about twice that of school age, lasting 2 to 3 years. Girls start slightly earlier than boys by 2 years.

Parents should regularly give their children a physical examination, and make records, record the child's height and weight every 3 to 6 months, and see how much the child's height and weight increase every year.

Is there a problem with children not being tall? Some parents feel that their children are shorter than children of the same age, is it "short stature"? Short stature is defined as being two standard deviations below the average height of the normal population, or below the third percentile, when compared to the height of individuals of the same race, sex, and age. The following conditions may indicate that the child's growth is slow: ① the child's height growth is less than 7 cm per year before the age of 2; The increase in height from age 5 to puberty is less than 5 cm per year; ③ Adolescent height increase is less than 6 cm per year. If the child is found to have the above conditions, it is recommended to take the child to the hospital to do standardized physical examination, nutritional assessment, genetic assessment, thyroid function assessment and bone age assessment, etc., to further clarify the diagnosis, early intervention, and not to miss the best growth period of the child.

Short stature must play growth hormone? There are many causes of short stature, and growth hormone deficiency or insufficient production is only one cause, as well as familial short stature, growth hormone insensitivity, bone development disorders, and some endocrine diseases. Treatment should be taken according to different causes. Chinese medicine believes that the kidney is the main bone, which is congenital; The spleen is the master muscle and limbs, which is the basis of the acquired nature. Traditional Chinese medicine strengthens the spleen and the kidney, which can promote the growth of bones and muscles of children. Clinically, the children are low in stature and most of them are borderline nanosomia. For these children, Chinese medicine intervention treatment can be carried out early.

In addition, it is recommended that parents start from daily maintenance: 1. Ensure that children get enough sleep and strengthen bouncing sports to promote their growth. 2. Pay attention to the balance of nutrition and improve the nutritional status of children. 3. It is not appropriate to give children supplements to avoid stimulating early development of children.