Children should go to bed before 10 PM, engage in physical activities that build endurance such as swimming regularly, get sun exposure, and eat a nutritious diet to effectively increase their height.
Dr. Nguyen Anh Duy Tung, a specialist at Nutrihome Nutrition Clinic System, advises parents to provide a balanced diet for their children from a young age. Children need to supplement their diet with foods containing calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, magnesium, phosphorus, vitamin D, protein, and lysine, such as milk, seafood, red meat, seaweed, and eggs, to promote height growth.
Divide meals into smaller portions throughout the day : Children should eat meals every 3-5 hours. Young children and teenagers should have 6 small meals a day. Teenagers should eat three meals a day and not skip meals.
Maintain a healthy weight : Obesity negatively impacts height. Excessive body weight can put pressure on bones and joints, leading to shorter stature. Parents should limit their children's consumption of sugary snacks, aiming for less than 10% of their total daily food intake. Parents should also ensure their children have a nutritious breakfast.
Proper sunbathing helps synthesize vitamin D : Adolescents who lack vitamin D are prone to stunted growth and delayed development because their bodies' ability to absorb calcium decreases. Children should sunbathe between 9 am and 3 pm because at this time the intensity of UVB rays in sunlight is sufficient to stimulate reactions that help synthesize vitamin D3.
Avoid prolonged sunbathing and change the areas of skin exposed to sunlight frequently to prevent irritation and burning, ensuring safety.
Playing and exercising outdoors helps children synthesize vitamin D, promoting height growth. Photo: Freepik
Get enough sleep: Children should go to bed before 10 PM to ensure deep sleep between 10 PM and 3 AM. This is when the body releases a lot of growth hormone, which helps tissues and bones develop. Below are the recommended daily sleep times for each age group.
| Age | Sleep time |
| Under three months old | 14-17 hours |
| 3-11 months old | 12-17 hours |
| 1-2 years old | 11-14 hours |
| 3-5 years old | 10-13 hours |
| 6-13 years old | 9-11 o'clock |
| 14-17 years old | 8-10 o'clock |
| From 18 years of age and older | 7-9 o'clock |
Regular exercise : This habit supports bone development. When exercising , weight can be maintained at a stable level, promoting the production of growth hormone. Parents should encourage children to exercise for at least an hour each day, focusing on endurance-building exercises such as swimming. Children can combine this with yoga, cycling, jump rope, aerobics, etc.
Reduce stress : Stress also affects hormones, impacting height. The child's living environment needs to be clean and comfortable.
Dr. Duy Tung advises parents to take their children to a medical facility for examination if the child is experiencing developmental delays or frequent illnesses. Children undergo a comprehensive assessment of their nutritional status and tests to quantify micronutrient levels in their bodies. Based on this, doctors can advise on treatment and develop a suitable diet plan to help the child grow well.
Kim Thanh
| Readers can ask questions about nutrition here for the doctor to answer. |
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