How is growth stunted

These data were collected as part of an ambitious program of research taking place in Dhaka, Bangladesh Charles A. Nelson, Ph. The goal of this work is to examine the effects of biological and psychosocial adversity on early brain development. Nadine Gaab, Ph. Stunting is a global problem. Although important progress has been made to reduce child stunting, stunting is declining too slowly and levels still remain unacceptably high. In , UN agencies reported that million children under five — almost 22 percent of all children in the age range — were affected by the condition in , depriving many them of the opportunity to achieve their full potential before they even reach school age.

Multiple forms of malnutrition are evident in many countries. Poor access to food and particularly healthy food contributes to undernutrition and increases the risk of low birthweight and childhood stunting.

A multisectoral approach is therefore needed to reduce the burden of both stunting and wasting. Deficiency of GH can lead to stunted growth.

Hypothyroidism — An underactive thyroid gland can also lead to stunted growth. The thyroid gland is responsible for the production of hormones that trigger growth. Severe stress, use of drugs during pregnancy, anaemia, kidney or lung diseases, etc are a few factors which can also contribute to stunted growth in children. Disclaimer: Tips and suggestions mentioned in the article are for general information purposes only and should not be construed as professional medical advice.

Always consult your doctor or a professional healthcare provider if you have any specific questions about any medical matter. Get the Latest health news , healthy diet, weight loss, Yoga, and fitness tips, more updates on Times Now. Visit www. Follow us on :. Anushree Gupta. As parents and workers in child health, we look at the child and feel happy when it is growing well. At child health clinics globally, growth is monitored and plotted on the road-to-health charts.

If we notice deviations, we worry and ask ourselves: What could be the causes, what shall we do? In the current Sustainable Development Goal era, ambitious global nutrition goals have been set. WHO defines stunting as the impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection, and inadequate psychosocial stimulation. Children are stunted if their height-for-age is less than -2 standard deviations of the WHO Child Growth reference. The total number of stunted children in the world has decreased, but still, million children below the age of five years are stunted.

This number is just a fraction of the number of children who are slowing down their linear growth due to different causes. A few years ago, PLOS Medicine published a paper by Goodarz Danaei and colleagues on risk factors for childhood stunting in low- and middle-income countries. A slowing down of growth as early as the fetal stage and harsh environmental conditions were the leading risk factors for stunting in that extensive analysis.

Factors leading to stunting are established early in life.