REVERSIBILITY OF STUNTING - EPIDEMIOLOGIC FINDINGS IN CHILDREN FROM DEVELOPING-COUNTRIES

The growth literature from developing countries is reviewed to assess the extent to which stunting, a phenomenon of early childhood, can be reversed in later childhood and adolescence. The potential for catch-u p growth increases as maturation is delayed and the growth period is p rolonged. However, maturational delays in developing countries are usu ally less than two years, only enough to compensate for a small fracti on of the growth retardation of early childhood. Follow-up studies fin d that subjects who remain in the setting in which they became stunted experience little or no catch-up in growth later in life. Improvement s in living conditions, as through food supplementation or through ado ption, trigger catch-up growth but do so more effectively in the very young. One study cautions that in older adopted subjects, accelerated growth may accelerate maturation, shorten the growth period and lead t o short adult stature.