Children with developmental delay due to improper nutrition

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1. Recognizing signs of slow development in children

Children with slow growth can lead to stunting, growth retardation, height retardation, cognitive and intellectual retardation, etc. A child's physical development follows the same process for all children. children, although rates will vary between individuals. Postnatal development goes through three stages including infancy which is the first 5 years of life, childhood which lasts from infancy to about 10 years of age, and adolescence which is defined as 10 years of age. to 18 years old. In all developmental stages, changes in body proportions and mastery of basic motor skills are part of biological maturation.
Growth retardation is defined as a weight below the 3rd to 5th percentile for age and sex, a gradual decrease in weight below the 3rd to 5th percentile, or a decrease in the percentile 2 growth parameters in a short period of time according to the growth standards of the World Health Organization WHO. Because children have different stages of development. For example, boys grow faster than girls until 7 months of age and after this period girls will grow faster until they are 4 years old. From the age of 4 until puberty, boys and girls develop at a similar rate. Therefore, in order to identify children with developmental delay, it is necessary to compare them with people of the same sex and age. Signs that children are slow in height growth are:
Children are shorter than their peers, of the same age Children are shorter than siblings of the same age Children's clothes are worn for a long time, tight and short. For children over 4 years old, is there a slow growth rate of height <5cm/year? In addition, cognitive development in children is related to the maturation of higher mental functions such as attention, memory, learning and perception. During these years, optimal brain development has been shown to be associated with better learning abilities.
If you suspect that your child has a growth problem, you can take your child to a specialist pediatric clinic. If necessary, your baby may need to have some blood tests to check the function of certain organs as well as some special tests to check hormone levels, X-rays of the wrist to check for more. measure bone growth with age. Besides, you should also regularly weigh and measure your child's height and record it to check the growth rate.

2. Effects on children's development due to improper nutrition

Children's slow development has many causes. The size of the child depends greatly on the parent. Tall parents will have tall children as a rule, conversely short parents will have short children. Genetic factors and hormones both affect the growth of a child. Besides, one of the common causes of slow growth in children may be due to improper nutrition.
Nutrition is one of the factors that play a very important role in the growth of children. Improper nutrition includes undernutrition and overnutrition, both of which affect children's development, but nutritional deficiencies are the main cause of growth retardation. During childhood, poor nutrition affects physical growth and maturation by affecting growth rate, body weight and height. In addition, nutritional deficiencies make children less energetic and less interested in learning, negatively affecting cognitive development and academic performance.
Evidence shows that the timing of nutritional deficiencies can also significantly affect growth and development in children. For example, during the fetal stage, a deficiency of folic acid between 21 and 28 days after conception will cause the fetus to have a birth defect called a neural tube defect. Childhood is also very sensitive to dietary deficiencies, especially as the brain is undergoing structural and cognitive maturation.
In addition, obesity is a condition that especially affects children's development and is increasingly common in children. This is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease in adolescence and adulthood. Childhood obesity also affects confidence and competence during physical activity, reducing the promotion of proper growth and development. Obesity in early life has far-reaching effects on the early development of other diseases such as osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and liver disease. Therefore, providing practical tips to foster good behaviors in parents and children will help prevent childhood obesity.

3. Nutrition for children with growth retardation

Primary care professionals will first assess the child's condition using approved anthropometric measures such as growth charts, body mass index, Z-score and fold thickness skin. To measure the nutritional status of children, a variety of measures should be used to comprehensively understand the nutritional status of children.
Nutrition for children with growth retardation will depend on many factors such as age, sex, nutritional status, degree of growth retardation,... An optimal child's diet to strengthen and support growth and development including factors such as quantity, quality, timing and nutritional composition of each meal. A very important breakfast, but many people often skip it or give it to children temporarily. The metabolism of glucose in children is higher than in adults, and the continuous supply of glucose to the brain is more important in children than in adults. Although there is a lack of research showing the optimal type, composition, and serving of breakfasts most beneficial for cognitive development, a low-glycemic, high-carbohydrate breakfast may facilitate performance. better cognitive outcomes at school.
Proper nutrition needs to balance the ratio of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, and is full of important micronutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins like vitamin B12 and minerals like zinc and iron,... The medical staff will effectively and safely advise parents on diet and nutrition, or maybe specific sample meals for each day.
The improvement of the situation of children with developmental delay can take place for a long time, so it is recommended that parents be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients for their children, even through eating or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow children to use many types at the same time or continuously change the types of functional foods.
In summary, nutrition plays an important role in the growth and development of children, with a healthy diet helping to strengthen the body and mind. Improper nutrition in children is detrimental to the development of physical growth, children's growth retardation and also cognitive ability, psychosocial skills of children, with many short-term side effects. and long term. Therefore, when a child shows signs of developmental delay, it is necessary for the child to immediately go to a medical facility for evaluation and advice on a reasonable diet. In the case of children with prolonged anorexia, malabsorption, and growth retardation, parents should supplement children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and B vitamins. help meet the nutritional needs of children. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well. Parents can simultaneously apply dietary supplements and functional foods derived from nature for easy absorption. The most important thing is that improving your baby's symptoms often takes a long time. Combining many types of functional foods at the same time or changing many types in a short time can make the baby's digestive system unable to adapt and completely not good. Therefore, parents must be really patient with their children and regularly visit the website vimec.com to update useful baby care information.