Factors Affecting Physical Growth

Sungwoo Jang

Heredity

Individual differences in physical growth in the same environmental conditions

are mainly determined by genetics. In other words, because parents pass on the
same genes to their children, studies have shown that children of tall parents
have a high chance to be taller. Similarly children those who have obese parents
have about 73% higher chance to be obese than other typical children. Even
different race could make a difference in body growth rate. In many research, it
showed that black people have a faster growth rate than other races.

The growth of the body differs between gender, and these differences appear
from fetal development.

Female

Until the age of 7, it is common for girls to a dominate growth than boys in
many parts.

⚫ Bone tissue is more mature than that of boys.

⚫ Permanent teeth erupt faster than boys.

⚫ Bone tissue is faster than boys, so they have better development in small
muscle movements than boys.
 ⚫ At the age of 4 or 5, their large muscle movements such as jumping and
running with one foot are superior to boys.

Male

⚫ Until 7 years old, boys have faster growth in height than girls.

⚫ Baby fat is lost faster than girls, so they look thinner than girls throughout
childhood.

⚫ They are superior to girls in movements such as throwing, hitting, and

striking.

Nutrition and Health

The most important factor affecting physical development in infancy is nutrition.

Nutritional intake not only affects physical development, but also affects all
aspects such as immunity, activity, and a healthy mind. In particular, infancy is a
period in which many infants have a picky eating. The reason for this is because
the growth rate of infants has slowed down, so it is natural that infants do not
have a certain amount of new foods or eat. Therefore, even if infants eat less,
they should be fed nutritious foods, especially nutrients such as protein, calcium,
and vitamins.

Environment
1) Poverty

If pregnant women do not take proper health care, they are more likely to give
birth to babies with underweight or developmental problems. In addition,
children from poor families have a higher risk of lead poisoning than children
from families with high social and economic levels, and if they are poisoned by
lead, they may show low achievement levels, attention deficit, and hyperactivity
disorder.

2) Sleeping

In addition, sleeping habits are also an important factor. In particular, growth

hormone is secreted while a child is sleeping, so sufficient sleep and stable sleep
habits play a role in helping infants grow and develop. Infants sometimes have
nightmares or show fear at night, but most of them are due to a lot of physical
activity or cognitive characteristics that make it difficult to distinguish between
reality and fantasy. Therefore, it is good to create a quiet environment. For
example, listening to music or telling stories so that infants can fall asleep in a
stable emotional.

3) Smoking

The greater the number of exposures to tobacco smoke, the higher the risk of
illness in infants. Pneumonia, bronchitis, otitis media, burns, and asthma are
examples of diseases caused by secondhand smoke.
Weather

It has been shown that children's physical development is also influenced by

seasonal and climatic factors. In general, growth in parts such as height, sitting
height, and legs are vigorous during the warm season. Conversely, growth in
body weight and chest height is vigorous during the cool season.