Cause children are shorter than friends

Have you ever noticed your little one's height? Is your child shorter than peers his age? If the height of a child including a toddler is very far or quite short compared to other children his age, you need to be vigilant. It is possible that your child has stunting or stature as a result of chronic malnutrition.

The cause of the children being shorter than their peers

Many things affect height growth in children. Girls, for example, tend to be taller when they are children but shorter when they are teenagers when compared to boys.

The following are some of the causes that may cause children including your toddler to be shorter than other children:

1. Insufficient food intake

Problems with nutritional status are the main thing that causes disruption in the development of children and makes them shorter.

Toddlers who are short may be caused because the nutritional needs to support their growth are not fulfilled. As for some nutrients that are important for bone growth, namely:

Protein

These macro nutrients play a role in building and maintaining body tissues. Protein is also needed for the child's growth process so that children, including toddlers, can achieve ideal growth.

Quoting from the Food Insight page, protein plays a role in children's development. Protein works as building cells in the body, brain development, hormones, and the growth of body structures such as muscles.

Several studies from the Journal of Nutrition Reviews have proven the role of protein in children's height. Children who are given foods rich in protein, especially animal protein, have a normal height average even higher than children their age.

Meanwhile, children who do not get enough protein tend to be shorter.

Zinc or zinc

This content is a type of micronutrient found in almost all cells and tissues of the body. Zinc for child development has an important role in helping to multiply growth cells

If a person is deficient in zinc this condition will affect the immune system. The greatest amount of zinc in the body is in the bones, hair, prostate and the eyes.

Iron

About 70 percent of the iron in the body is in the form of hemoglobin in the blood. Hemoglobin is a substance that functions to distribute food and oxygen throughout the body.

Iron is also needed in growing children, including toddlers. This is evidenced by research conducted in the Saharawi.

This study shows that children who are deficient in iron have a shorter height than those in the iron-sufficient group.

Vitamin A.

Fat-soluble vitamins and has the main function of guarding the sense of sight and plays a role in growth and the immune system.

One of the symptoms of vitamin A deficiency is the disrupted growth process so that the child cannot reach optimal height.

To reduce the problem of vitamin A deficiency in susceptible children, vitamin A supplementation should be obtained by the baby every 1 year 2 times.

2. Babies are born with low birth weight

Children born weighing less than 2500 grams are said to have low birth weight. Low birth weight is actually a condition of malnutrition that occurs even when the baby is still in the womb.

This nutritional deficiency continues when the baby is born and ultimately interferes with its growth. Many things cause low birth weight.

However, most of them are caused by the unhealthy diet and lifestyle of the mother before pregnancy and during pregnancy.

Not only during pregnancy, even before the fertilization process occurs, it can also affect a child's growth until he is a teenager.

3. Not exclusively breastfed

Breastfeeding is an important factor that can determine a child's height. Breast milk is not only good for the baby's immune system, WHO states that breast milk plays a role in infant development.

Exclusive breastfeeding is the best way to provide nutrition to babies so it is very important to support mothers breastfeeding comfortably anytime and anywhere.

Children's brains have changes in the first three years. The neural connections are formed faster than other stages.

Breast milk given to babies can also prevent various infectious diseases which can also directly affect bone growth.

4. Frequent and recurring infections

Children, especially children who are still under five, are very susceptible to infection because their immune systems are not yet strong.

Infection suffered by children will interfere with the absorption of nutrients that have been digested from food.

When this happens continuously, it can result in the toddler being deficient in various nutrients and making him shorter than other children. In fact, nutrients are needed for the child's growth process.

Therefore, children who often experience infections, such as fever, cough, runny nose, diarrhea for a long time and repeatedly can have a shorter height than their peers.

This is evidenced by research conducted in Guetemala, that children who often experience intestinal worms have stunted bone growth.

5. Do not complete basic immunization

Do you give children complete basic immunizations? The basic immunizations that must be received by children under five are:

• Bacillus calmette guerin (BCG)
• Diphtheria pertussis tetanus – hepatitis b (DPT-HB)
• Diphtheria pertussis tetanus – hepatitis b-hemophilus influenza type b (DPT-HB-Hib)
• Hepatitis B in newborns
• Polio
• Measles

Immunization is an effective way to protect children from various diseases that cause infection.

It has been previously explained that children who experience frequent infections tend to have a shorter body than children their age.

Therefore, you should give children complete basic immunizations to maintain their health and nutritional status.

6. Parenting patterns and parental knowledge of poor nutrition

Parents play a role in caring for and caring for their children by providing food, bathing, changing diapers, and so on.

Parenting patterns and poor knowledge of parents about health and nutrition, of course, will have an indirect impact on the health and growth of the baby.

Thus, parents (both father and mother) who have good parenting styles and knowledge tend to have healthy children with good nutritional status.

7. The environment is not clean and sanitation is bad

The relationship between sanitation and hygiene behavior is closely related to the spread of infection, because it is an indirect factor affecting the nutritional status of children.

Unclean behavior and poor sanitation can indirectly cause growth problems in children, including toddlers.

This fact is reinforced by research from the journal BMC Public Health about cleanliness in Indonesia. The results show that poor conditions of latrines and sanitation increase the chances of stunting, compared to cleaner latrines.

In the same study, it was stated that to reduce the condition of short children under five, it must be started from improving sanitation and environmental hygiene.

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