Genetic heritage makes up only about 60 percent of the factors that determine a person’s height, while the rest is determined by environmental factors that can be controlled, a doctor said yesterday.
Yen Jui-lung (顏瑞龍), a physician at the Department of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism in Taipei City Hospital’s Heping Fuyou Branch, said parents often tell him that their children do not seem to be growing tall.
He said height is closely associated with genetic factors, adding that a child’s “target height” can be predicted with a formula.
The sum of the parents’ height in centimeters plus 11, divided by two would give a prediction of a boy’s target height, Yen said, adding that subtracting 11 from the parents’ total height and dividing by two would predict a girl’s target height.
Humans go through two main growth spurts, first from birth to age three and then during puberty, Yen said, adding that although growth between age three and puberty is slow, people still grow about 4cm each year during the period.
A child is considered short when they are in the bottom 3 percentile of their peers’ average height, their predicted adult height is shorter than their target height by at least 5cm, or if they grow less than 4cm per year, he said.
“However, genetics only account for about 60 percent of the factors that affect a child’s height,” Yen said, adding that by maintaining healthy habits, a child might grow taller than their target height.
Children should exercise for at least 30 minutes every day and the exercises should include jumping, stretching and high-intensity sports, such as running, cycling or playing ball, Yen said, adding that they should avoid weightlifting and get plenty of sleep, preferably going to bed before 10pm.
Children should also be kept on a healthy and well-balanced diet, Yen said.
A child’s diet should include foods high in calcium and zinc, and at least half a liter of milk every day, he said, adding that children should not be fed too much sugar or deep fried food.
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