Chapter 4:
Growth and Health
Chapter 4: Growth and Health
Chapter 4 has three modules:
Module 4.1 Physical Growth
Module 4.2 Challenges to Healthy
Growth
Module 4.3 The Developing Nervous
System
Physical Growth
Features of Human Growth
Mechanisms of Physical
Growth
The Adolescent Growth Spurt
and Puberty
Module 4.1 Physical
Growth
• What are the important
features of physical
growth during
childhood? How do
they vary from child to
child?
• How do sleep and
nutrition contribute to
healthy growth?
• What are the physical
changes associated
with puberty, and what
are their
consequences?
Module 4.2
Challenges to
Healthy Growth
Module 4.3 The
Developing
Nervous System
Features of Human Growth
Growth patterns from infancy through
adolescence
• Muscles
• Fat layer
• Cartilage and bone
• Secular growth trends
Stop and Think!
Secular Growth Trends: generational changes
in physical development
Can you provide an example?
Rate of Growth
What gender differences do you see?
Average Height and Weight
Remember: Average and normal are not the same!
Mechanisms of Physical Growth
•
Sleep and growth hormone production
•
Proper nutrition, including breast feeding and
caloric requirements
•
Developmental changes in eating patterns
Mechanisms of Physical Growth
Sleep
•Essential for normal growth
•80% of growth hormones produced during child
and adolescent sleep
Nutrition
•AAP guidelines for encouraging children to be
more open-minded about food
Adolescent Growth Spurt and
Puberty
Timing of puberty regulated by genes,
nutrition, and health
• Weight
• Events and timing of sexual maturation by
gender
• Effects of early maturation by gender
Adolescent Growth Spurt and
Puberty
Sexual maturation
• Development of primary sex characteristics
and secondary sex characteristics
• Menarche
• Spermarche
Average Timing of Pubertal
Changes
Adolescent Growth Spurt and
Puberty
Cultural Rites of Passage
Can you think of a way in which the rite of
passage into adolescence is marked in your
culture?
Adolescent Growth Spurt and
Puberty
MECHANISMS OF MATURATION
Pituitary gland in brain
Hormone secretion/signals
Genetics
Environment
Adolescent Growth Spurt and
Puberty
Psychological Impact of Puberty
• Concern about overall appearance
• Peer relations
• Early maturation influence by gender
• Late maturation influence by gender
Adolescent Growth Spurt and
Puberty
Paternal Investment Theory of Girls’ Pubertal
Timing
• Quality and quantity of father-daughter
relationship impact timing
• Uncommon, negative relationship related to
early puberty
Mechanisms of Physical Growth
Osteoporosis
• Often rooted in childhood and adolescence
• Many adolescents lack adequate calcium or
exercise needed for healthy bone growth
• “Best Bones Forever” program
Challenges to Healthy Growth
Malnutrition
Eating Disorders: Anorexia and
Bulimia
Obesity
Disease
Accidents
Module 4.2 Challenges to
Healthy Growth
• What is malnutrition?
What are its
consequences? What is
the solution to
malnutrition?
Module 4.1
Physical Growth
• How do nature and
nurture lead some
adolescent girls to diet
excessively?
• Why do some children
become obese? How
can they lose weight
permanently?
• How do diseases and
accidents threaten
children’s development?
Module 4.3 The
Developing
Nervous System
True or False?
Children who don’t eat breakfast often
have a hard time concentrating.
Malnutrition
•
•
•
•
•
Effects by age
Child characteristics
Treatment
Parent education
Other intervention programs
Eating Disorders: Anorexia and
Bulimia
•
•
•
•
Anorexia nervosa
Bulimia nervosa
Incidence and gender differences
Cultural standards and family dynamics
Obesity
Obesity: refers to individuals who have body
mass index (BMI) in upper 5%
Causes
• Heredity and environment
• Effective weight-loss programs
Disease
•
Top 5 killers of children worldwide
•
WHO vaccination statistics and programs
Accidents
•
Common causes of child deaths by age
•
Prevention strategies for parents
An interesting idea…!
• Most accidents involving children and adolescents
can be foreseen and either prevented or steps
taken to reduce injury
The Development of the Nervous
System
Organization of the Mature Brain
The Developing Brain
Module 4.3 The
Developing
Nervous System
• What are the
parts of a nerve
cell? How is the
brain
organized?
Module 4.1 Physical
Growth
Module 4.2
Challenges to Healthy
Growth
• When is the
brain formed in
prenatal
development?
• When do
different regions
of the brain
begin to
function?
Organization of the Brain
Can you define the following terms?
• Neuron
• Cell body
• Dendrite
• Axon
• Myelin
• Terminal buttons
• Synapse
The Neuron: Basic Unit of
Nervous System
Let’s take a look.
Organization of the Mature Brain
•
•
•
•
Cerebral cortex
Corpus callosum
Cerebral hemispheres
Frontal cortex
Organization of the Brain
The Developing Brain
•
Brain origination in prenatal neural plate
•
Myelinization and synaptic pruning
•
Early brain region specialization
•
Plasticity
The Developing Brain: Growth
Do you know the difference?
Growth of the Specialized Brain
Specialization
• Occurs early in development
• Takes two forms: brain region becomes more
focused and less diffuse and brain activity
stimulus triggers shift from general to specific