The secret of the “Golden period” for a person to reach optimal height

The height of Vietnamese people has changed a lot in recent years, however the increase is still slow and still among the lowest in the world. Data from the Ministry of Health shows that the height of Vietnamese men is currently 168.1 cm and that of women is 156.2 cm.

Height acceleration is a process of early, long-term and sustainable intervention.

Compared to 10 years ago, young men have increased by 3.7 cm, and women have increased by 2.6 cm. Compared to Southeast Asian countries, Vietnamese people's height is behind Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

According to medical experts, height growth is influenced by genetics, nutrition, hormones, health, exercise and living environment. Of these, genetic factors determine 20-40% of a child's height but cannot be intervened.

However, height can be changed by supplementing nutrition, changing lifestyle such as going to bed early, and increasing physical activity for children.

The three golden stages for height intervention for children include the fetal stage, 0-3 years old and puberty. Accordingly, in the fetal stage, calcium is the mineral that forms the skeleton and teeth of the fetus, and is provided entirely from the mother through the placenta. Therefore, at this time, the mother needs to supplement micronutrients such as calcium and vitamin D to support the fetus.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Viet Ha, Department of Pediatrics, Hanoi Medical University, the neonatal and infant stages are the time when height growth rate is highest. In the first 2-3 years of life, a child's height can increase 2-3 times compared to birth, increasing about 25 cm in the first year and 10-12 cm/year in the next two years.

Rapid growth requires high calcium requirements, 200 to 700 mg/day. Calcium is the main component of bone (99% of the body's calcium), and it also plays a role in nerve conduction, muscle contraction and cardiovascular activity.

During this period, children do not receive enough essential micronutrients, and it will be difficult to fully compensate for their height in the following years. After this period, the rate of height growth decreases and there is only one sharp increase during puberty before the growth rate slows down and ends around the age of 19. During puberty, girls can grow 20-25 cm, and boys 25-30 cm.

Dr. Tran Thanh Tung, Deputy Head of the Department of Pharmacology, Hanoi Medical University, said that the height acceleration results from an early, long-term and sustainable intervention process.

During important stages, parents need to pay attention to help children grow well. Vitamin D is the key to open the door for calcium to enter the bones, and vitamin K2 ensures that calcium is attached to the correct bone structure, to improve and increase height in children.

A study by experts from Hanoi Medical University evaluating the impact of vitamin K2-MK7 on the growth of 945 children aged 1 to 14, published in October, showed that the group of children who continuously supplemented vitamin K2-MK7 with a dose of 180-360 mcg per day had a significant improvement in height compared to the group who only used it periodically.

This difference was most evident during key growth stages. For example, children aged 6-10 who continuously used this micronutrient had a height change index of 0.197 cm/month, significantly higher than the remaining group.

Therefore, in addition to proper sunbathing, it is necessary to supplement vitamin D and K2 from daily diet and supplements. Vitamin D is abundant in foods such as fish oil, liver, egg yolks, butter and milk... Vitamin K2 is abundant in fermented foods such as cheese and especially natto (Japanese fermented soybeans). In addition, chicken and eel also contain vitamin K2.

According to the 2023 national survey data, the rate of stunting in children under 5 years old in Vietnam is 18.2% (belonging to the group of countries with a rate of stunting in children below 20%, which is the average level according to the classification of the World Health Organization).

However, this rate is still high in the Northern Midlands and Mountains (24.8%) and the Central Highlands (25.9%). In addition, there is an increase in the rate of overweight and obesity in all subjects, including overweight and obesity in children aged 5-19, which increased from 8.5% in 2010 to 19.0% in 2020 (more than double after 10 years).

To address this situation, the Vietnamese Government has issued the National Nutrition Strategy for the 2021-2030 period, with specific goals to improve the nutritional status of the entire population, especially school-age children and adolescents.

Some of the key objectives of the Strategy include: Reducing the rate of stunting in children under 5 years old to below 15% by 2030; Controlling the rate of overweight and obesity in children, especially in urban areas, with the aim of keeping this rate below 19% for children aged 5-18 years old by 2030;

Strengthen nutrition education in schools, with the goal that 60% of schools in urban areas and 40% in rural areas will organize school meals with menus that meet recommended needs by 2025 and strive to reach 90% and 80% respectively by 2030.

Achieving this goal requires comprehensive, continuous, and interdisciplinary intervention solutions, including the improvement of nutrition mechanisms and policies to facilitate implementation;

At the same time, strengthen inter-sectoral coordination and social mobilization; enhance human resource quality, international cooperation, application of information technology; promote scientific research and nutrition education and communication.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/bi-mat-ve-giai-doan-vang-de-mot-nguoi-dat-chieu-cao-toi-uu-d443623.html