Nutrition and Growth
What do Growth charts include? - ANSWER-Weight for age
Height for age
Weight for height
Head circumference
Gender-specific
Diagnosis specific
Rules of Thumb for growth Weight:
Over time - ANSWER-- Weight loss in first few days: 5-10% of BW
- Return to BW at 7-10 days of age
- Double BW : 4-5 months
- Triple BW : 1 year
- Quadruple BW : 2 years
Daily weight gain: __-__ grams/day for first 3-4 months
Average weights:
- __ kg at birth
- __ kg at 1 year
- __ kg at 2nd year
- __ kg at 10years - ANSWER-Daily weight gain: 20-30 grams/day for first 3-4 months
Average weights:
- 3.5 kg at birth
- 10 kg at 1 year
- 20 kg at 2nd year
- 30 kg at 10years
___________: Increase in the size of the body as a whole or in part - ANSWER-Growth
__________: Changes in function across many domains: social, emotional, cognition,
motor, adaptive, behavioral etc. - ANSWER-Development
How is growth assessed? - ANSWER-- Plot accurate measurements on growth charts
- When in doubt, remeasure
- Use standardized growth charts
- See examples in your handout
- Ask parents if the infant has been following his/her growth curves.