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decorative star graphic  The School Years
Biosocial Development
- Size & Shape - BMI -

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Ψ  Variations in Physique

•  Each year, the typical well-nourished school-aged child gains about 5 pounds & grows about 3 inches.
   •  For poor nations, variations in weight & height is due mostly to malnutrition; in wealthier nations, genes seem to play a greater role

Ψ  Childhood Obesity

•  Being overweight is the largest & most common problem in school-age children. Nearly 1/3 of North American children are obese.

•  Obese children are prone to orthopedic & respiratory problems, along with a high risk for other illnesses. Causes of childhood obesity include:

   •   Heredity
    •   Lack of exercise
     •   Television
      •   Cultural attitudes
       •   Precipitating events

Ψ  The most common cause of school absence in many developed nations, & especially in cities is asthma. Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory disorder of the air ways.

Ψ  Causes of asthma? Civilization.

Ψ  Prevention of Asthma

  •   Primary: Proper ventilation of schools & homes, decreases pollution, eradication of cockroaches, & safe play spaces.
  •   Secondary: Depends on families, if there is a genetic history of allergies, ridding the house of allergens before the disease appears & breast feeding newborns can cut the rate of asthma in half.
  •   Tertiary: Prompt use of injections, inhalers, & pills. Less than half in U.S. receive adequate tertiary prevention.

Ψ  Body Mass Index - a measure of obesity determined by dividing weight in kilograms by height squared in meters - Less than 18 is ok for children.

New New New Formula for BMI New New New

Ψ  BMI = w/h2 where:

w = weight in kilograms (pounds divided by 2.2)
h = height in meters (inches divided by 39.4)
 
OR: BMI = Weight in pounds divided by ( height in inches times height in inches ) times 703. That is (in Imperial units): BMI = w/h2 x 703

Ψ  Table For Adults;
 
   •  below 18 on the BMI scale is considered anorexic.
    •  between 19 & 25 is "good".
     •  26 to 30 is considered overweight.
      •  30 or above is considered obese.
       •  40 or above is considered morbidly obese.

     When calculating BMI age is not a consideration (variable); however, it must be considered for growing humans. Charts provided by the CDC graph percentiles for ages up to twenty years. Below 5 percentile = underweight & above 95 percentile = overweight.

     When calculating BMI age is not a consideration (variable); however, it must be considered for growing humans. Charts provided by the CDC graph percentiles for ages up to twenty years. Below 5 percentile = underweight, above 85 percentile = overweight, & above 95 percentile = obese.

It's a Mickey Mouse World , isn't it?

      Percentile BMI graphs age scaled for adult men & women are shown below. Adult age changes the impact of BMI very little. The adult table above is usually an adequate placement tool.


 


 

Ψ  Variations in Health

  In developed nations, children between 7 & 11 are the healthiest humans of all; they are least likely to die or become seriously ill or injured.

Ψ  Brain Development in Middle Childhood enhances:

     Selective Attention - the tuning out of unwanted information.
     Automatization - a process by which thoughts & actions are repeated in sequence so often they become automatic, or routine, & no longer require conscious thought.


Growth & Development
Robert C. Gates
 
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