The particular features of the children’s growth are determined by a lot of factors which can be discussed as the child-specific characteristics, including the genetics factor, and as the child behaviours, with references to the nutrition, physical activity, and daily regime. There are a lot of factors that can influence the children’s growth concerning such measures as height and weight which can be normal or abnormal.
These measures should be controlled according to the special scales and charts to predict and overcome possible changes in the children’s growth which can be discussed as an abnormality. To examine the conditions which are important for the children’s growth, and which can cause abnormality, it is necessary to refer to three growth charts and analyze them about the average measures and influential conditions.
Three charts representing the changes in the growth of eight-year-old James, David, and Marco are examined and compared with the clinical growth chart which provides information about a child average growth rate. The CDC growth chart for boys from 2 to 20 years is used to compare the measures presented in the charts with the average measures typical for the age of eight (Boys’ stature-for-age and weight-for-age, 2000). It was found that the measures about the weight and height of James were correlated, and the boy’s weight of 20 kg can be discussed as healthy for the height of 118 cm. However, these measures are not related to the boy’s age of eight. They are lower than the permissible norm for age. That is why it is possible to speak about an abnormality in the boy’s growth.
The parameters characteristic for David are also compared with the measures presented in the CDC growth chart. The correlation of David’s weight and height can be discussed as normal, but it borders with the underweight. This fact is conditioned by the boy’s abnormal height of 132 cm which is not related to the weight of 26. If the boy’s weight is normal, the height is over the norm.
Marco’s parameters are also compared with the CDC growth chart. The measures are analyzed regarding their correlation to each other. It was stated that the boy achieved the borderline of the overweight. Moreover, Marco’s weight and height are significantly over the permissible measures which are characterized for the age of eight. Thus, Marco’s growth is abnormal. From this point, James and Marco’s charts indicate the significant level of abnormality when David’s chart allows speaking about the absence of the healthy correlation between the weight and height typical for the age of eight.
Focusing on the abnormality characterized for James, it is necessary to state that there is a high level of abnormality which can be caused by the lack of nutrition or genetic factors because the measures which are lower than the average parameters are typical for the boy during his growth period. To pay more attention to the causes for the boy’s abnormality in growth, it is necessary to use the other diagnostic tests or assessment tools which can be helpful to determine the possible causes for the abnormality.
Thus, it is important to concentrate on the mid-parental height and associated assessment tools and on the bone age measurement to speak about the specific characteristics of the child. Moreover, it is important to concentrate on the fact that the boy’s measures are correlated concerning height and weight. Thus, the boy has a healthy weight for his height, and the abnormality can be caused by the definite genetic factors discussed as the child specific characteristics (LeBlond, Brown, & DeGowin, 2009). To control the further changes in the boy’s growth, it is necessary to continue recording all the parameters to the boy’s age.
The low level of abnormality is characterized for David. The boy’s weight can be discussed as normal for his age, but it is not correlated with the boy’s height. That is why David can suffer from being underweight. The problem can depend on the lack of nutrition. Adequate nutrition is significant to provide the child with the necessary elements for active growth and healthy development. It is possible to speak about David’s weight deficit for height.
It is also important to pay attention to the birth weight and body mass index (BMI) during the whole childhood to conclude about the causes for the child’s abnormality (Seidel et al., 2011). The underweight height can be caused by increased energy requirements, growth hormone deficiency, and some cardiac and respiratory diseases (LeBlond, Brown, & DeGowin, 2009). That is why all the parameters should be fixed or recorded to provide the full picture of the child’s changes in height and weight according to different ages. David needs more nutrition to develop well and have good health.
Marco’s parameters state about the boy’s risk of further overweight if the situation is not changed. According to the set measures, Marco’s weight and height are extremely higher than the permissible norm for the age of eight, and these measures are not correlated because the borderline of the overweight is observed. Thus, the boy’s abnormality can be caused not only by the genetic factors because his parameters were always higher than the norm but also by the nutrition factor. It is important to focus on the role of the endocrine system in the boy’s growth and its effects on his overweight.
The metabolic rates can be decreased and cause unhealthy processes in the organism which lead to child obesity (Lifshitz, 2009). It is also necessary to exclude the risk of diabetes to find the right cause for child obesity. The overweight can be also affected by the imbalanced diet with a lot of calories which are not related to the level of the child physical activity. Thus, the child can eat unhealthy food with many calories and get not enough physical activity because of such sedentary behaviours as watching TV and playing computer games.
To receive accurate results to the child abnormality, it is necessary to refer to the additional diagnostic tests and assessment tools such as the diagnostic of the mid-parental height and the bone age measurement which are effective to speak about the child undergrowth as a result of the genetics factors. The identification of the birth weight and body mass index (BMI) is necessary to analyze the possible causes for the child overweight based on the comparison of the results with several charts providing the average and adequate measures.
References
Boys’ stature-for-age and weight-for-age. (2000). Web.
LeBlond, R. F., Brown, D. D., & DeGowin, R. L. (2009). DeGowin’s diagnostic examination. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Medical.
Lifshitz, F. (2009). Nutrition and growth. Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology, 1(4), 157–163.
Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Mosby’s guide to physical examination. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.