Development of eating habits

Growth is a biological process that occurs in all living beings and that in man has the particularity of extending over a longer period of time than in other animals.

Growth is a complex phenomenon through which the child increases its body mass, remodeling its morphological structure and functionally maturing all its organs and systems.

Growth is primarily conditioned by genetic inheritance, so each person has his or her growth potential marked from the moment of conception; however, this does not mean that some environmental factors -such as nutrition and physical activity- capable of stimulating or hindering the individual's growth potential can be disregarded.

Main factors influencing the growth of the individual

Genetic factors: These are the ones that condition the final size of the individual, as well as the growth rate at each stage of development. The role of the rest of the factors is to help the person reach his or her maximum growth potential.

These factors are the ones that explain the prevalence of high heights in certain families, localities or regions of the planet; or the equality of height in homozygous twins of the same sex.

Hormonal factors: Hormones intervene in growth by stimulating all organs and systems to accelerate metabolic processes. The hormones most involved in growth are growth hormone, thyroid hormones and sex hormones. If children are deficient in any of these hormones, their growth rate will be affected.

Adequate oxygen supply: Cells need oxygen to produce energy, so children with alterations in the cardiovascular system - congenital cardiomyopathies or lung diseases - that make it difficult for them to oxygenate the body, may have alterations in their growth rates.

Adequate supply of nutrients: The nutrients contained in food provide energy and form the structures that allow growth; they also control chemical reactions of metabolism and are essential for the manufacture of hormones and growth mediators.

Nutrient deficiencies can directly affect a child's growth rates, causing severe reductions in the final height of the individual. In addition, a malnourished child is more vulnerable to various infections - respiratory, gastrointestinal, etc. - which, when they become frequent, considerably impair normal growth rates.

Regular physical exercise: The practice of sports and exercise contributes to the growth of children as it strengthens bones, the endocrine system and the cardiovascular system.

Psychosocial factors: A climate of affective proximity with the family and other people around the child, favor their physical and intellectual growth.

Growth periods of the individual

Although the human growth process is continuous, its rhythm or speed is not constant, going through the following phases:

• Prenatal growth: the most rapid phase of growth of the human organism occurs during its fetal stage since in nine months the fetus reaches about 50 centimeters. During this stage, the factors that most influence the growth of the child are the size of the mother -the size of the uterus and placenta- and her health and nutritional status -the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the fetus-.
• Growth during the first 5 months: From birth onwards, the speed of growth will depend fundamentally on genetic inheritance, a characteristic that will be maintained during all subsequent stages of growth. During the first 5 months after birth, babies continue to grow rapidly -at a rate of 20 centimeters per year-.
• Between six months of life and three years of age, the child's growth rate slows down; between two and three years of age, it is between 7.5 and 10 centimeters per year.
• Between three years of age and the beginning of adolescence, the child's growth is characterized by being slow and constant -between 5 and 6 centimeters per year-.
• Growth during adolescence: With the onset of adolescence begins a stage of faster growth that starts between 9 and 10 years of age in girls and between 11 or 12 years of age in boys. During the first two years of adolescence, growth is faster than in the rest of the stage in both sexes; girls grow an average of 9 centimeters per year -18 centimeters in two years- and boys grow an average of 10 centimeters per year -20 centimeters in two years.

After that, the rate of growth slows down in