Normal and abnormal growth in childhood

Extract

• An assessment of a child’s growth should always be based on long-term observation and plotting of growth charts, which must be updated and consulted regularly.
• The growth of the child should be assessed at every scheduled routine check-up visit at a child health clinic or at school health care and, if needed, at a medical consultation.
• The growth charts and screening rules presented in this article are based on the principles and data that have been in use in Finland for a considerable length of time. New charts have been defined in 2010–2011 and integrated into several electronic growth chart applications.
• Normal growth of a child is characterised by consistency.
• The follow-up of the growth aims at diagnosing in good time all conditions and diseases that affect growth.
• Possible psychosocial consequences of growth disturbances should also be anticipated and treated accordingly. In some cases, growth may be accelerated even in the absence of a specific treatable cause.
• Consult also national and local guidelines regarding the management of children’s growth disturbances and obesity. A specialist should be consulted early whenever a child’s growth is abnormal and requires assessment and further management.
• See also article Overweight and obesity in children Overweight and obesity in children1.

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