Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.

Postnatal growth is based on hereditary signals and environmental factors in a complex regulatory network. Each factor must be in an optimal state for normal growth of the child. Fetal conditions may also have consequences on postnatal height. Intrauterine growth retardation can be recovered postnat...

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Main Author: Delemarre-van de Waal, H A
Format: Online
Language:English
Published: 1993
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1519930/
id pubmed-1519930
recordtype oai_dc
spelling pubmed-15199302006-07-26 Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development. Delemarre-van de Waal, H A Research Article Postnatal growth is based on hereditary signals and environmental factors in a complex regulatory network. Each factor must be in an optimal state for normal growth of the child. Fetal conditions may also have consequences on postnatal height. Intrauterine growth retardation can be recovered postnatally, although postnatal growth remains depressed in about one-third of cases. After birth, the environment may exert either a positive or negative effect on growth. In underdeveloped countries, malnutrition plays a major role in inhibiting the growth process. Children from families of higher socioeconomic classes are taller than their coevals in the lower socioeconomic groups. Urbanization also has a positive effect on growth. Better child care is supported by sufficient food supply, appropriate health and sanitation services, and a higher level of education. Over the last century, these factors have induced a taller stature and a more rapid maturity in Europe, North America, and Australia; a phenomenon which has been referred to as "the secular trend" in growth. Recently, a secular trend has also been reported in some developing countries. Although urbanization in general appears to be associated with better conditions of living, this is not the case in the slums of South America or in Africa where rural children are better off than children living in the poor cities. This paper describes in more detail the different hereditary and environmental factors that act during the fetal period and postnatally, and which play a role in human growth and pubertal development. 1993-07 /pmc/articles/PMC1519930/ /pubmed/8243404 Text en
repository_type Open Access Journal
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building NCBI PubMed
collection Online Access
language English
format Online
author Delemarre-van de Waal, H A
spellingShingle Delemarre-van de Waal, H A
Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.
author_facet Delemarre-van de Waal, H A
author_sort Delemarre-van de Waal, H A
title Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.
title_short Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.
title_full Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.
title_fullStr Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.
title_full_unstemmed Environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.
title_sort environmental factors influencing growth and pubertal development.
description Postnatal growth is based on hereditary signals and environmental factors in a complex regulatory network. Each factor must be in an optimal state for normal growth of the child. Fetal conditions may also have consequences on postnatal height. Intrauterine growth retardation can be recovered postnatally, although postnatal growth remains depressed in about one-third of cases. After birth, the environment may exert either a positive or negative effect on growth. In underdeveloped countries, malnutrition plays a major role in inhibiting the growth process. Children from families of higher socioeconomic classes are taller than their coevals in the lower socioeconomic groups. Urbanization also has a positive effect on growth. Better child care is supported by sufficient food supply, appropriate health and sanitation services, and a higher level of education. Over the last century, these factors have induced a taller stature and a more rapid maturity in Europe, North America, and Australia; a phenomenon which has been referred to as "the secular trend" in growth. Recently, a secular trend has also been reported in some developing countries. Although urbanization in general appears to be associated with better conditions of living, this is not the case in the slums of South America or in Africa where rural children are better off than children living in the poor cities. This paper describes in more detail the different hereditary and environmental factors that act during the fetal period and postnatally, and which play a role in human growth and pubertal development.
publishDate 1993
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1519930/
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