Infants and toddlers in Hong Kong go to the Maternal and Child Health Center at the age of one and a half to follow up their growth and development. Every time the parents go to the health center, it is like handing out a report card. They will pay close attention to what the girl says, and hope that their children will be qualified in all aspects. In terms of growth, many parents are concerned about the growth line of their child’s height and weight. Is my child too fine-grained? Are you too skinny? Is it standard?
Because infants and young children grow every moment, we must use a growth chart to assess whether the child’s growth rate meets the standard. Just like adults are tall, short, fat, and thin, babies may also have different body shapes when they are born. Put their height, weight, head circumference and other data on the growth chart, and you will know which growth line they are in. For example, a baby with a birth weight of 3 kg will probably be located on the 25th growth line, which means that 100 babies born on the same day, if arranged in order of weight, the baby’s weight will probably rank 25th.
In fact, which growth line the weight is in is not the biggest problem, as long as the infant grows along the growth line all the way, that is, if the baby’s weight is at the 25th growth line at birth, then he only needs to continue It is enough to gain weight along the 25th growth line. So even for relatively “fine-grained” children, as long as they gain weight healthily, parents don’t have to worry too much!
However, if the growth becomes slower and slower, and the weight drops to the 10th or even the 3rd line after a few months, it is called falling below the two growth lines, which can be defined as faltering growth retardation in medicine, and must be diagnosed by doctors and nutritionists. The reasoning behind the assessment, too.
Member of Hong Kong Dietitians Association
Australian Registered Dietitian
Simin Huang