Gratitude to TVB's programme 'The Strongest Lifeline' for the invitation. Dr. Tsui Tsz-kwan has specially shared information regarding children's growth and dwarfism with everyone, allowing more parents to understand this topic.
Paediatric specialist Dr. Tsui Chi-kwan points out that approximately 70-80% of a person's height is influenced by genetic factors, with the remainder related to lifestyle habits. As long as children get enough sleep, maintain a balanced diet, and engage in appropriate exercise, all of these contribute to healthy bone development. However, some children may experience significantly stunted growth due to dwarfism and require further treatment.
Dwarfism can have various causes, sometimes with no identifiable reason, and other times related to family genetics or slowed growth and development. The medical community categorises these situations as idiopathic short stature. For these cases, growth hormone injections are a common treatment method. However, growth hormone is only suitable for those diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency, idiopathic short stature, or Turner syndrome, and it must be administered before the growth plates close, otherwise, the effect will be limited. Generally, growth plates gradually close around the age of fourteen for girls and sixteen for boys.
Taking nine-year-old Xi'er as an example, her mother noticed from kindergarten that she was shorter than her peers, and even her teacher suspected there might be issues with her diet. After a detailed examination, it was discovered that Xi'er's annual height growth was significantly below the standard, and she was eventually diagnosed with idiopathic short stature. Doctors recommended growth hormone injections to aid her bone development.
Doctor Xu emphasised that as long as parents seek medical help at an early stage and maintain good lifestyle habits, the vast majority of children can grow up healthy.
Source: TVB Programme [The Strongest Lifeline] (13 May 2025)
