Children may not grow as large as their parents. Children can’t reach the height of their parents without treatment if they have a severe growth hormone deficiency.
A growth disorder is a condition that impairs the child’s physical and often also psychosocial development.
Short stature is a common problem
The genetic characteristics of the parents will determine what size is normal for a child’s body. Children should be approximately the same size as their parents. Sometimes children lag in growth, i.e. Their height does not increase. It is important to recognize the growth disorder as soon as possible and have enough time to treat it.
Short stature
- Short stature proportionally with delayed bone maturation
- Small feet and hands
- Doll-like faces
- Obesity, based on body height (trunk obesity)
- Muscles poorly developed
- Thin skin, light voice
- Boys often have small penis sizes
- Hypoglycaemia, especially in young children.
Every child has their growth measured during school or preventive check-ups. Staggering should be identified early. Unfortunately, data is not always analyzed and may not be able to detect any long-term damage. For every child whose height or body length is lower than the norm, or whose growth rate exceeds the age norm, further examinations are required.
The following factors are key to a good average growth rate:
- The genetic potential can have a significant impact on the height of a child or adolescent. Smaller parents will produce smaller offspring than those with larger genes.
- A healthy diet and absence of serious illness are prerequisites to average growth. Malnutrition and chronic severe disease can lead to shortages.
- Intimacy, love and social integration can also hinder growth.
- Environmental influences, such as smoking or alcohol abuse by the mother during pregnancy, can also cause short stature. Short stature can also be caused by environmental influences, such as smoking or alcohol abuse during pregnancy.
- The body’s hormonal system must function properly for growth to occur. Growth hormone is the most important hormone for height gain.
You can correct a short hormonal status
Short hormonal stature is when one or more of the hormones required for growth are missing or largely absent. This can occur due to many congenital conditions or because of a rare condition that only occurs in childhood. Growth hormones such as the thyroid hormones and pituitary growth hormone are essential for controlling the growth. Serial determinations of the level of growth hormone in blood must be done to prove a deficiency. This may also include stimulation with pharmaceuticals such as serostim. A growth hormone deficiency is not as severe as other short stature. Children with a growth hormone deficiency can be treated early and reach average height before the end of their growing period.
