Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T00:04:34.610Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Long-term physiological and economic consequences of growth retardation in children and adolescents

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2008

N. G. Norgan
N. G. Norgan
Affiliation:
Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leics. LE11 3TU, UK
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The application of a lifespan perspective in human biology in recent years has shown that a number of early environmental factors influencing human growth and development have long-term biological or psycho-social consequences. Human growth is characterized by prolonged infancy, an extended childhood phase and high rates of growth during the adolescent growth spurt. It is unlikely that these characteristics would have evolved without having advantages, and curtailments have the potential for disadvantage. The present paper examines the evidence for long-term physiological and economic consequences of growth retardation in children and adolescents. The emphasis is the biological and economic imperatives of survival, subsistence, reproduction and production rather than aspects of metabolic competence. Many of the consequences of growth retardation are determined by the direct effect on body size, but many other consequences arise from the conditions that cause the growth retardation. Catch up of retarded growth can occur, but does not usually do so because of the continued presence of the retarding agents. Basal metabolism and physical work capacity are usually commensurate with the size of the individual; mechanical efficiency of physical work is unchanged, but falls in activity levels may occur along with a reduction in the pace of activity. Growth retardation in childhood is associated with a higher disease and mortality risk in adulthood, with decreased productivity and employment and promotion prospects. Studies are showing that relative deprivation and the accumulation of socially patterned exposures are important in some societies. Height and growth retardation have proved invaluable in reflecting these factors, but the next generation of studies may require more discriminating indices.

Keywords

Catch-up growthHuman energeticsMorbidity and mortalityDeprivation
Type
International and Public Health Nutrition Group and Macronutrient Metabolism Group Joint Symposium on ‘Long-term consequences of growth perturbation in children and adolescents’
Information
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , May 2000 , pp. 245 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2000

References

Barac-Nieto, M, Spur, GB, Maksud, MG & Lotero, H (1978) Aerobic work capacity in chronically undernourished adult males. Journal of Applied Physiology 44, 209–215.Google Scholar
Barker, DJP (1994) Mothers, Babies and Disease in Later Life. London: BMJ Publications.Google Scholar
Barker, DJP, Osmond, C, Golding, J & Kuh, D (1989) Growth in utero, blood pressure in childhood and adult life, and mortality from cardiovascular disease. British Medical Journal 298, 564–567.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beunen, G, Malina, RM, Lefevre, J, Claessens, AL, Renson, R, Simons, J, Maes, H, Vanreusel, B & Lysens, E (1994) Size, fatness and relative fat distribution of males of contrasting maturity status during adolescence and as adults. International Journal of Obesity 18, 670–678.Google ScholarPubMed
Billewicz, WZ & McGregor, IAM (1982) A birth-to-maturity longitudinal study of heights and weights in two West African (Gambian) villages, 1951–1975. Annals of Human Biology 9, 309–320.Google Scholar
Bogin, B (1996) Human growth and development from an evolutionary perspective. In Long Term Consequences of Early Environment: Growth, Development and the Lifespan Developmental Perspective, pp. 7–43 [Henry, and Ulijaszek, SJ, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Cameron, N (1992) The monitoring of growth and nutritional status in South Africa. American Journal of Human Biology 4, 223–234.Google Scholar
Cameron, N, Jones, PRM, Moodie, A, Mitchell, J, Bowie, MD, Mann, MD & Hansen, JDL (1986) Timing and magnitude of adolescent growth in height and weight in Cape Coloured children after kwashiorkor. Journal of Pediatrics 109, 548–555.Google Scholar
Cameron, N, Mitchell, J, Meyer, D, Moodie, A, Bowie, MD, Mann, MD & Hansen, JDL (1990) Secondary sexual characteristics of Cape Coloured boys following kwashiorkor. Annals of Human Biology 17, 217–228.Google Scholar
Caulfield, LE, Himes, JH & Rivera, JA (1995) Nutritional supplementation during early childhood and bone mineralisation during adolescence. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1104S–1110S.Google Scholar
Cooper, C, Eriksson, JG, Forsen, T, Osmond, C, Tuomilehto, J & Barker, DJP (1999) Childhood growth trajectory is a strong determinant of later risk of hip fracture: a prospective study. Calcified Tissue International S38Abstr.Google Scholar
Coyle, EF, Sidossis, LS, Horowitz, JF & Beltz, JD (1992) Cycling efficiency is related to the percentage of Type 1 muscle fibres. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 24, 782–788.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cronk, C, Roche, AF, Chumlea, W & Kent, R (1982) Longitudinal trends of weight/stature2 in childhood in relation to adult body fat measures. Human Biology 54, 751–764.Google Scholar
Davey Smith, G & Brunner, E (1997) Socio-economic differentials in health: the role of nutrition. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 56, 75–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davey Smith, GD, Hart, C & Blane, D (1998) Adverse socioeconomic conditions in childhood and cause specific adult mortality: prospective observational study. British Medical Journal 316, 1631–1635.Google Scholar
Eveleth, PB (1985) Nutritional implications of differences in adolescent growth and maturation and in adult body size. In Nutritonal Adaptation in Man, pp. 31–43 [Blaxter, K and Waterlow, JC, editors]. London: John Libbey.Google Scholar
Eveleth, PB & Tanner, JM (1990) Worldwide Variation in Human Growth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ferro-Luzzi, A (1985) Work capacity and productivity in long-term adaptation to low energy intakes. In Nutritional Adaptation in Man, pp. 61–68 [Blaxter, K and Waterlow, JC, editors]. London: John Libbey.Google Scholar
Ferro-Luzzi, A (1990) Social and public health issues in adaptation to low energy intakes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51, 309–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferro-Luzzi, A, Petrachi, C, Juriyan, R & Kurpad, AV (1997) Basal metabolism of weight stable chronically undernourished men and women, lack of metabolic adaptation and ethnic differences. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66, 1086–1093.Google Scholar
Forsdahl, A (1977) Are poor living conditions in childhood and adolescence an important risk factor for arteriosclerotic heart disease? British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine 31, 91–97.Google ScholarPubMed
Garby, L (1990) Metabolic adaptations to decreases in energy intake due to changes in the energy cost of low energy expenditure regimen. World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics 61, 173–208.Google Scholar
Golden, MHN (1994) Is catch-up possible for stunted malnourished children? European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, S58–S71.Google Scholar
Golden, MHN (1996) The effect of early nutrition on later growth. In Long Term Consequences of Early Environment: Growth, Development and the Lifespan Developmental Perspective, pp. 91–108 [Henry, CJK and Ulijaszek, SJ, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Grantham-McGregor, S, Meeks, Gardner JM, Walker, S & Powell, C (1991) The relationship between undernutrition, activity levels and development in young children. In Activity, Energy Expenditure and Energy Requirements of Infants and Children, pp. 361–383 [Schurch, B and Scrimshaw, NS, editors]. Lausanne, Switzerland: IDECG.Google Scholar
Gunnell, DJ, Davey, Smith G, Frankel, S, Nanchahal, K, Braddon, FEM, Pemberton, J & Peters, TJ (1998) Childhood leg length and adult mortality: follow up of the Carnegie (Boyd Orr) Survey of Diet and Health in pre-war Britain. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 52, 142–152.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haas, JD & Habicht, J-P (1990) Growth and growth charts in the assessment of preschool nutritional status. In Diet and Disease in Traditional and Developing Societies, pp. 160–183 [Harrison, GA and Waterlow, JC, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Haas, JD, Martinez, EJ, Murdoch, S, Conlisk, E, Rivera, JA & Martorell, R (1995) Nutritional supplementation during the preschool years and physical work capacity in adolescent and young adult Guatemalans. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1078S–1089S.Google Scholar
Habicht, J-P, Martorell, R & Rivera, JA (1995) Nutritional impact of supplementation in the INCAP Longitudinal Study: analytical strategies and inferences. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1042S–1050S.Google Scholar
Hamill, PVV, Drizd, TA, Johnson, CL, Reed, RB & Roche, AF (1977) NCHS Growth Curves for Children from Birth to 18 years. US Department of Health, Education and Welfare Publication no. (PHS) 78–1650.Series 11, no. 165. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health, Education and Welfare.Google Scholar
Henriksson, J (1992) Energy metabolism in muscle: its possible role in the adaptation to energy deficiency. In Energy Metabolism: Tissue Determinants and Cellular Corollaries, pp. 345–363 [McKinney, JM and Tucker, HN, editors]. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Immink, MDC (1988) Economic effects of chronic energy deficiency. In Chronic Energy Deficiency: Causes and Consequences, pp. 153–174 [Schurch, B and Scrimshaw, NS, editors]. Lausanne, Switzerland: IDECG.Google Scholar
Jackson, AA, Langley-Evans, SC & McCarthy, HD (1996) Nutritional influences in early life upon obesity and body proportions. In The Origins and Consequences of Obesity, pp. 118–137 [Chadwick, DJ and Cardew, G, editors]. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Johnston, FE (1998) Fat patterning. In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Human Growth and Development, p. 419 [Ulijaszek, SJ, Johnston, FE and Preece, MA, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Karlberg, J, Jalil, F, Lam, B, Low, L & Yeung, C (1994) Linear growth retardation in relation to the three phases of growth. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, S25–S44.Google Scholar
Khan, AD, Schroeder, DG, Martorell, R & Rivera, JA (1995) Age at menarche and nutritional supplementation. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1090S–1096S.Google ScholarPubMed
Kulkarni, RN, Kurpad, AV & Shetty, PS (1993) Reduced postexercise recovery oxygen consumptions: An adaptive response in chronic energy deficiency. Metabolism 42, 544–547.Google Scholar
Lawrence, M, Thongprasert, K & Durnin, JVGA (1988) Between-group differences in basal metabolic rates: an analysis of data collected in Scotland, The Gambia and Thailand. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 42, 877–891.Google Scholar
Lien, NM, Meyer, KK & Winick, M (1977) Early malnutrition and ‘late’ adoption: a study of their effects on the development of Korean orphans adopted into American families. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 30, 1734–1739.Google Scholar
Little, MA, Galvin, K & Leslie, PW (1983) Cross-sectional growth of nomadic Turkana pastoralists. Human Biology 55, 811–830.Google Scholar
MacWilliam, KM & Dean, RFA (1965) The growth of malnourished children (with kwashiorkor) after hospital treatment. East African Medical Journal 42, 297–304.Google Scholar
Malina, RM (1984) Physical activity and motor development/ performance in populations nutritionally at risk. In Energy Intake and Activity, pp. 285–302 [Pollitt, E and Amante, P, editors]. New York: AR Liss.Google Scholar
Marmot, MG & Davey, Smith G (1997) Socio-economic differentials in health. The contribution of the Whitehall study. Journal of Health Psychology 2, 283–296.Google Scholar
Martorell, R (1995) Results and implications of the INCAP Follow-up Study. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1127S–1138S.Google ScholarPubMed
Martorell, R (1996) The role of nutrition in economic development. Nutrition Reviews 54, 566–571.Google ScholarPubMed
Martorell, R & Arroyave, G (1988) Malnutrition, work output and energy needs. In Capacity for Work in the Tropics, pp. 57–75 [Collins, KJ and Roberts, DF, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martorell, R, Delgado, HL, Valverde, V & Klein, RE (1981) Maternal stature, fertility and infant mortality. Human Nutrition: Clinical Nutrition 53, 302–312.Google Scholar
Martorell, R, Habicht, J-P & Rivera, JA (1995) History and design of the INCAP Longitudinal Study (1969–77) and its Follow-Up (1988–89). Journal of Nutrition 125, 1027S–1041S.Google ScholarPubMed
Martorell, R, Kettel, Khan L & Schroeder, DG (1994) Reversibility of stunting: epidemiological findings in children from developing countries. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 48, S45–S57.Google Scholar
Martorell, R, Schroeder, DG, Rivera, JA & Kaplowitz, HJ (1995) Patterns of linear growth in rural Guatemalan adolescents and children. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1060S–1067S.Google Scholar
Montgomery, SM, Bartley, MJ, Cook, DG & Wadsworth, MEJ (1996) Health and social precursors of unemployment in young men. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 50, 415–422.Google Scholar
Norgan, NG & Ferro-Luzzi, A (1996) Human adaptation to energy undernutrition. In Handbook of Physiology. section 4. Environmental Physiology, pp. 1391–1409. [Fregly, MJ and Blatteis, CM, editors]. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Pickett, KE, Haas, JD, Murdoch, SM, Rivera, JA & Martorell, R (1995) Early nutritional supplementation and skeletal maturation in Guatemalan adolescents. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1097S–1103S.Google Scholar
Pollitt, E, Gorman, KS, Engle, PL, Rivera, JA & Martorell, R (1995) Nutrition in early life and fulfillment of intellectual potential. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1111S–1118S.Google Scholar
Popkin, BM, Richards, MK & Montiero, CA (1996) Stunting is associated with overweight children of four nations that are undergoing the nutrition transition. Journal of Nutrition 126, 3009–3016.Google Scholar
Proos, LA, Hofvander, Y & Tuvemo, T (1991) Menarcheal age and growth pattern of Indian girls adopted in Sweden. I. Menarcheal age. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica 80, 852–858.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Proos, LA, Karlberg, J, Hofvander, Y & Tuvemo, T (1993) Pubertal linear growth of Indian girls adopted in Sweden. Acta Paediatrica 82, 641–644.Google Scholar
Ramakrishnan, U, Martorell, R, Schroeder, DG & Flores, R (1999) Role of intergenerational effects of linear growth. Journal of Nutrition 129, 544S–549S.Google Scholar
Reed, RB & Stuart, HC (1959) Patterns of growth in height and weight from birth to eighteen years of age. Pediatrics 24, 904–921.Google Scholar
Richardson, SA (1975) Physical growth of Jamaican school children who were severely malnourished before 2 years of age. Journal of Biosocial Science 7, 445–462.Google Scholar
Rivera, JA, Martorell, R, Ruel, MT, Habicht, J-P & Haas, JD (1995) Nutritional supplementation during the preschool years influences body size and composition of Guatemalan adolescents. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1068S–1077S.Google Scholar
Roche, AF & Baumgartner, RN (1988) Sex differences in fat patterning in children and youths. In Fat Distribution during Growth and Later Health Outcomes, pp. 85–102 [Bouchard, C and Johnston, FE, editors]. New York: Liss.Google Scholar
Rowett Research Institute (1955) Family Diet and Health in Pre-war Britain. Dunfermline: Carnegie United Kingdom Trust.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Nadamuni Naidu, A, Chatterjee, B & Narasinga Rao, BS (1977) Body size and work output. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 30, 322–325.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Nadamuni Naidu, A & Narasinga Rao, BS (1978) Nutrition, physical work capacity and work output. Indian Journal of Medical Research 68, Suppl., 88–93.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Nadamuni Naidu, A & Narasinga Rao, BS (1979) Nutritional deprivation in childhood and the body size, activity, physical work capacity of young boys. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 32, 1769–1775.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Nadamuni Naidu, A & Narasinga Rao, BS (1980a) Adolescent growth spurt among rural Indian boys in relation to their nutritional status in early childhood. Annals of Human Biology 7, 359–365.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Nadamuni Naidu, A & Narasinga Rao, BS (1980b) Agricultural employment, wage earnings and nutritional status of teenage rural Hyderabad boys. Indian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics 17, 281–286.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Nadamuni Naidu, A, Swaminathan, MC & Narasinga Rao, BS (1981) Effect of nutritional deprivation in early childhood on later growth – community study without intervention. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 34, 1636–1637.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Prasanna Kishna, T & Narasinga Rao, BS (1986) Effect of early childhood undernutrition and child labor on growth and adult nutritional status of rural Indian boys around Hyderabad. Human Nutrition: Clinical Nutrition 40, 131–140.Google Scholar
Satyanarayana, K, Radaiah, G, Murali Mohan, R, Thimmayamma, BVS, Pralhad Rao, N & Narasinga Rao, BS (1989) The adolescent growth spurt of height among rural Indian boys in relation to childhood nutritional background: an 18 year longitudinal study. Annals of Human Biology 16, 289–300.Google Scholar
Schroeder, DG, Martorell, R & Flores, R (1999) Infant and child growth and fatness and fat distribution in Guatemalan adults. American Journal of Epidemiology 149, 177–185.Google Scholar
Schroeder, DG, Martorell, R, Rivera, JA, Ruel, MT & Habicht, J-P (1995) Age differences in the impact of nutritional supplementation on growth. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1051S–1059S.Google Scholar
Seckler, D (1982) ‘Small but healthy’: a basic hypothesis in the theory, measurement, and policy of malnutrition. In Newer Concepts in Nutrition and their Implications for Policy, pp. 127–137 [Sukhatme, PV, editor]. Pune, India: Maharashstra Association for the Cultivation of Science Research Institute.Google Scholar
Shetty, PS (1984) Adaptive changes in basal metabolic rate and lean body mass in chronic undernutrition. Human Nutrition: Clinical Nutrition 38C, 443–451.Google Scholar
Shetty, PS (1993) Chronic undernutrition and metabolic adaptation. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 52, 267–284.Google Scholar
Shetty, PS (1999) Adaptation to low energy intakes: the responses and limits to low intakes in infants, children and adults. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, Suppl. 1, S14–S33.Google Scholar
Simondon, KB, Simondon, F, Simon, I, Diallo, A, Benefice, E, Traaissac, P & Maire, B (1998) Preschool stunting, age at menarche and adolescent height: a longitudinal study in rural Senegal. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 52, 412–418.Google Scholar
Soares, MJ & Shetty, PS (1991) Basal metabolic rates and metabolic efficiency in chronic undernutrition. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45, 363–373.Google Scholar
Spurr, GB (1984) Physical activity, nutritional status, and physical work capacity in relation to agricultural productivity. In Energy Intake and Activity, pp. 207–261 [Pollitt, E and Amante, P, editors]. New York: AR Liss.Google Scholar
Spurr, GB (1988) Marginal malnutrition in childhood: implications for adult work capacity and productivity. In Capacity for Work in the Tropics, pp. 107–140 [Collins, KJ and Roberts, DF, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Spurr, GB (1990) The impact of chronic undernutrition on physical work capacity. In Diet and Disease in Traditional and Developing Societies, pp. 24–61 [Harrison, GA and Waterlow, JC, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Spurr, GE & Reina, JC (1987) Marginal malnutrition in school-aged Colombian girls: dietary intervention and daily energy expenditure. Human Nutrition: Clinical Nutrition 41C, 93–104.Google Scholar
Spurr, GB, Reina, JC, Dahners, HW & Barac-Nieto, M (1983) Marginal malnutrition in school-aged Colombian boys: functional consequences in maximal exercise. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 37, 834–847.Google Scholar
Tanner, JM (1986) Growth as a mirror of the conditions of society: secular trends and class distinction. In Human Growth: A Multidisciplinary Review, pp. 3–34 [Demirjian, A, editor]. London: Taylor and Francis.Google Scholar
Tanner, JM (1989) Foetus into Man. Ware, Herts.: Castlemead Publications.Google Scholar
Torun, B (1990) Short and long term effects of low or restricted energy intakes on the activity of infants and children. In Activity, Energy Expenditure and Energy Requirements of Infants and Children, pp. 335–358 [Schurch, B and Scrimshaw, NS, editors]. Lausanne, Switzerland: IDECG.Google Scholar
Ulijaszek, SJ (1996) Long-term consequences of early environmental influences on human growth: a developmental perspective. In Long Term Consequences of Early Environment: Growth, Development and the Lifespan Developmental Perspective, pp. 25–43 [Henry, CJK and Ulijaszek, SJ, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
van Lenthe, FJ, Kemper, HCG & van Mechelen, W (1996a) Rapid maturation in adolescence results in greater obesity in adulthood: The Amsterdam Growth and Health Study. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 64, 18–24.Google Scholar
van Lenthe, FJ, Kemper, HCG, van Mechelen, W, Post, GB, Twisk, JWR, Welten, DC & Snel, J (1996b) Biological maturation and the distribution of subcutaneous fat from adolescence into adulthood. International Journal of Obesity 20, 121–129.Google Scholar
Vaz, M, Thangham, TA, Prabhu, A & Shetty, PS (1996) Maximal voluntary contraction as a functional indicator of adult chronic undernutrition. British Journal of Nutrition 76, 9–15.Google Scholar
Waaler, HT (1985) Height, weight and mortality: the Norwegian experience. Acta Medica Scandinavica 215, Suppl. 679.Google Scholar
Waterlow, JC (1990) Mechanisms of adaptation to low energy intakes. In Diet and Disease in Traditional and Developing Societies, pp. 5–23 [Harrison, GA and Waterlow, JC, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, RG (1996) Unhealthy Societies: The Afflictions of Inequality. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Winick, M, Meyer, KK & Harris, HC (1975) Malnutrition and environmental enrichment by early adoption. Science 190, 1173–1175.Google Scholar