Fairy tales are filled with giants and little people. The
stories were written hundreds of years ago, and they
sometimes tried to explain why these people looked different
from others around them.
These old-fashioned fairy tales might have been different if
the writers had known what today's doctors have learned about
growth.
WHAT IS A GROWTH DISORDER?
Everyone grows and matures differently. You may be taller
than your best friend in fourth grade but then in seventh
grade, she may be an inch taller than you. Usually, this is
totally normal.
A growth disorder, however, means that a child has abnormal
growth -- for example, growing much slower or much faster
than other children the same age.
WHAT IS NORMAL GROWTH?
If growth isn't the same for all children, how do doctors
know what is normal? By feet and inches, or meters and
centimeters. Over the years, many height and weight
measurements have been taken for many children of different
ages. These measurements have been put together in what is
called a standard growth chart which tells doctors about how
most children grow.
From the time you were a baby, your doctor has weighed and
measured you whenever you've had a checkup. Because children
grow differently, your doctor checks your height against the
[curve on the] standard growth chart. If you are in the 50th
percentile on the growth chart, it means half of the children
your age are taller than you and half are shorter. If you
fall in the 25th percentile, it means that 75% of the
children your age are taller and 25% are shorter.
Most children whose heights are between the 3rd percentile
and the 97th percentile and who are growing at a steady rate
are considered to have normal growth. Kids who are higher or
lower than this on the growth chart are usually normal, too.
But some children who are under the 3rd percentile or over
the 97th percentile, or who are growing a lot slower or
faster than most of their peers, may have a growth problem.
In this situation, the doctor will usually want to check
things out.
One thing your doctor will want to know is how tall your
mother and father are and how they grew when they were
children. You may have inherited short or tall genes from
them. You may also have inherited the tendency to have your
growth spurt earlier or later than most other kids do.
PROBLEMS WITH PUBERTY
Glands in your body produce chemical messengers called
hormones. Normal increases in the amounts of some of these
hormones being produced trigger the changes your body goes
through during puberty.
One of the changes during puberty is a substantial increase
in the rate of growth -- a growth spurt. The higher level of
hormones in your body tell your bones to grow.
Such changes occurring before the age of eight in a girl or
ten in a boy are called precocious or early puberty. At
first, these children may be taller than their friends but
later they may stop growing sooner and they may not become as
tall as adults. Sometimes, children with precocious puberty
can be treated with medication that help correct this
problem.
Delayed or late puberty occurs when the hormonal and body
changes that should happen take place later than normal or,
sometimes, not at all. When puberty finally occurs, either by
itself or with treatment, these teens have a growth spurt and
tend to catch up to their peers. Sometimes they even grow
taller than their friends.
HORMONES AND GROWTH DISORDERS
The pituitary gland is found at the bottom of your brain and
is shaped like a peanut. It may be small in size but is very
important since one of the chemical messengers it sends out
to your body is the growth hormone. Hypopituitarism, or
hormone insufficiency, results in slowed down growth. Tests
can determine the amount of hormone being produced and daily
shots can supplement it if it is lacking.
Hypothyroidism is a condition of insufficient thyroxine being
produced by the thyroid gland, a butterfly-shaped gland just
under your Adam's apple. Here, too, the missing hormone can
be supplemented in the form of a pill.
OTHER REASONS WHY CHILDREN DON'T GROW NORMALLY
Some of these other reasons include;
* Chronic diseases such as heart and kidney problems, cystic
fibrosis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and sickle cell
anemia may retard growth.
* Complications during pregnancy such as IUGR (intrauterine
growth retardation). Some infections before and during
pregnancy and certain genetic diseases can cause this
problem.
* Failure To Thrive (FTT). This may happen when an infant
simply doesn't get enough to eat [a condition that can also
arise with nursing babies]. Sometimes a baby may have an
illness but most will grow normally after they start eating
enough food.
* Genetic conditions. Girls with Turner Syndrome may have one
X chromosome instead of two, or one that is abnormal. Marfan
Syndrome children have very long legs and arms and may also
have heart and eye problems. Many people believe Abraham
Lincoln had Marfan Syndrome.
Many of these growth disorders can be successfully treated
today. With help, children who might once have ended up very
short or very tall can grow up more like other children.
And that's a happy ending to any fairy tale!
Dr. Reuven Bruner is a lifestyle nutritionist and exercise
psychologist, a consultant specializing in fitness of body
and mind, behavioral nutrition and stress management.
For the Total Lifestyle Program, assessments, consultation,
lectures, seminars, and the FREE 30-DAY BRUNER METHOD,
contact him at POB 1903, Jerusalem 91314, tel. 02-652-7684,
052-865-821 or email: dr-bruner@hotmail.com.
