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Increasing Height through Diet, Exercise and Lifestyle Adjustment

Conference Paper · September 2013

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Syed Arif Kamal Sajid Aleem Khan

University of Karachi University of Agriculture Faisalabad
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 Paper presented during the First Conference on Athromathematics in the Memory of (Late) Syed Firdous
(ANTHROMATHEMATICS 2013), Department of Mathematics, University of Karachi, Karachi, Pakistan and
Government College, Hyderabad, Pakistan, September 4, 5, 2013 (Thursday, Sept. 5, 2013; 1150h-1200h,
Assembly Hall, Govt. College), Technical Session Anthro13-IV, Abstract#Anthro13-12, p 18
Increasing Height through Diet, Exercise and Lifestyle Adjustment
¶ # #
Syed Arif Kamal , Chaudhry Mohummed Shakir Manzoor and Shahid Ali Khan
¶, #
SF Growth-and-Imaging Laboratory, Anthromathematics Group, Department of Mathematics, University of
Karachi, Karachi 75270, Pakistan; ¶Subject Committee for Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences, National
Testing Service Pakistan; profdrakamal@gmail.com
Stunting is a condition in which a child has lesser height-for-age. The best course of action to treat is condition is
through diet, exercise and lifestyle adjustment. To gain height, the child should consume food high in calcium and
protein as well as fiber (bread, etc.), the last one, also, prevents constipation and decreases consumption of salt and
fat. Diet-based interventions shall be effective, only, if the student is not suffering from vitamin-D deficiency
https://www.ngds-ku.org/Presentations/VitaminD.pdf — a student, who has excess height-for-age, is considered
tall, taking current-age-mid-parental height as reference. Taller students run a higher risk of acquiring scoliosis
https://www.ngds-ku.org/Presentations/CSRW.pdf if they do not maintain optimal weight-for-height
https://www.ngds-ku.org/Papers/J29.pdf — stunted children should perform light-stretching exercises
https://www.ngds-ku.org/Presentations/Fitness.pdf (dressed minimally, giving the body an opportunity to breathe)
in a park just after sunrise, e. g., hanging from bar, mild stretching, summersault, cartwheel. They may be
encouraged to exercise even during TV-watching and not sit still with upper torso taking a curved posture as the
muscles get tired, possibly inducing kyphosis, neck pain and backache. Such children should be mandated to
exercise for 5 minutes after each class (stretching, bending, touching toes as well as performing head-, neck-, eye-
and wrist-exercises), while attending school. In addition, parents should make sure that their sleep-duration is
increased to 9 hours or more. For the children to sleep soundly and achieve maximum from bedtime, the authors
recommend performing light exercises, massaging with olive oil, taking bath with lukewarm water, changing into
fire-resistant pajama-shorts (discourage sleeping in day clothes or underwear), drinking a glass of milk, brushing
teeth, getting into bed on time in a room with subdued lights (artificial lights should be absent). While in bed, the
parents or caretakers should ask about day-routine, including good and bad things (to uncover any internal
frustrations) followed by telling a story or reading a poem. Those children, who sleep in air-conditioned rooms,
should cover their body from neck to feet throughout the night with a thick sheet or a blanket to avoid catching
cold. A 3-minute, slow-stroke back massage has shown to improve quality as well as quantity (by about 36
minutes) of nighttime sleep in patients suffering from dementia. Fig. 1a-c illustrate protocols for height
measurement and Fig. 1d outlines journey of a chunk of bite from intake to tissue synthesis (height gain).
Keywords: Optimal weight, stunting, tallness, diet-based intervention, school-age child, vitamin-D deficiency
Conflict of Interest Statement: No potential conflict of interest is identified for this work
Grant Sponsor: Dean’s (Science) Research Grant, University of Karachi, number DFSR/2009
Research Ethics: Project initiated after Institutional Review Process and conducted in compliance with ethical and
human-right standards in our region.
Chewing &
Intake
Swallowing

Digestion &
Elimination
Absorption

Energy Heat
Production Metabolic Production
Utilization
Tissue Synthesis
a b c Storage
(GROWTH) d
Fig. 1a-d. Measurement of height of (a) a boy, placement of setsquares (b) to align feet and (c) on head
to record height; (d) journey of a chunk of bite resulting in tissue synthesis (height gain) —
Growth Monitoring and Assessment, Seminar of Dr. Salahuddin Sheikh
Web address of this document: https://www.ngds-ku.org/Presentations/Height_Management.pdf
HTML version: https://www.ngds-ku.org/pub/confabstA.htm#C108:
¶
PhD (Mathematical Neuroscience); MA, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States; Founding Project
Director, the NGDS Pilot Project; Visiting Faculty, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, United
States (1990); Sessional Faculty, the Aga Khan University Medical College (1996-2006); Master Trainer for
Anthropometry, Tawana Pakistan and Department of Special Education, University of Karachi (2006); Member,
Subject Committee for Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences, National Testing Service Pakistan; Ex-
Member, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD); Head,
Anthromathematics Group, University of Karachi • paper mail: Professor and Chairman, Department of
Mathematics, University of Karachi, PO Box 8423, Karachi 75270, Pakistan • telephone: +92 21 9926 1300-15
ext. 2293 • homepage: https://www.ngds-ku.org/kamal • project URL: https://ngds-ku.org
#
MSc (Health and Physical Education); Director, Physical Education, Government Degree Boys College,
Korangi, Karachi 74900

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