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Monitoring growth of the child is very important. Growth is a result of multiple factors
including gene makeup, nutrition, habits and environment. If the growth is off the curves
in the chart, it would prompt us to look for the cause and appropriate action can be
taken. During well child checkups the growth is monitored typically. As parents you could
also plot the weight, height or length and head circumference of the child against the age
and see where the growth falls on the curve. The following are the common scenarios
which are concerning.
- Length/ Height below the 5th percentile: It can be due to poor nutrition, hereditary
influence (May there is shortness in the family), any long term organ problem, Low
thyroid or growth hormone or can be just a late bloomer. Monitoring growth is
critical. Thyroid problem can be corrected easily. Low growth hormone can be
detected by blood tests. Initial tests can be done by your primary doctor and
advanced testing is done by the pediatric endocrinologist. It can be fixed by giving
growth hormone injections. There are excellent results with the shots. However this
needs to be diagnosed way earlier than onset of puberty. Once the growth plates
fuse injections will not help. It would be nice to diagnose this between 3 to 5 years
of age so that we have enough time to treat. Thanks for the advances in science.
This is another reason why well child checkups are important.
- Length / Height above the 95th percentile: A positive thing! This really good if you
want your child to do well in basket ball. Reasons - Often tall parents or uncles
/aunts in the family. Occasionally can be due Marfan's syndrome, homocystinuria
(this is being tested during newborn screen in some states ex: WI, MI), Sometimes
being too tall can have negative implications. Using hormones during puberty can
help to control the height by causing early fusion of growth plates.
- Weight below 5th percentile: This can be due to poor nutrition or illness interfering
with the growth. Good nutrition and vitamins are helpful. Pediasure (available in the
shelf in most of the stores which carry formula.) is often recommended. First make
sure the length is not below 5th percentile (Shorter people will obviously weigh
less). When doubtful use weight for for length or BMI chart below. When the weight
is below 5th percentile the child is underweight (Failure to thrive). Sorry if we got
too technical.
- Weight more than 95th percentile: This will be disussed under obesity. Again first
make sure whether the child is too tall. Use weight for length or BMI chart below.
Click the appropriate link to open up the growth chart. When you go to the doctor next
time for a physical, jot down the growth from the nurse and you could plot it on the growth
chart when you come home. They are color coded to make it easy to identify. The formula
to calculate BMI (Body Mass Index is Weight(pounds) div. by height(inches) div. by height
(inches) X 703. Plot the obtained number against the age.
Boys Length-for-age and Weight-for-age
View/download PDF (Color) 44KB. Modified 4/20/01
Boys Head circumference-for-age and Weight-for-length
View/download PDF (Color) 48KB. Modified 10/16/00
Girls Length-for-age and Weight-for-age
View/download PDF (Color) 40KB. Modified 4/20/01
Girls Head circumference-for-age and Weight-for-length
View/download PDF (Color) 55KB. Modified 10/16/00
Body Mass Index
(BMI)
by The JavaScript Source
Boys Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age
View/download PDF (Color) 77KB. Modified 11/21/00
Boys Body Mass Index (BMI) for age
View/download PDF (Color) 61KB. Modified 10/16/00
Girls Stature-for-age and Weight-for-age
View/download PDF (Color) 77KB.Modified 11/21/00
Girls Body Mass Index (BMI) for age
View/download PDF (Color) 61KB. Modified 10/16/00
you are burning.
educational purposes only. This site is created to provide health information for
parents and children. It is not intended to be used as a substitute for medical advice.
We try our best to provide the right information. Some of the information in the site is
our opinion not necessarily accurate. We do not take any responsibility for any errors
in the website and for any consequences. Your primary physician should be the
person who can tell the right thing for your child. Parents have to decide the right
course of action for their child after discussing with their health care provider. This
information is as current as we could make it. But medical information is always
changing, and some information given here may be out of date. This site provides
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