Is a child a miniature adult?

Question 1

Give 6 areas in which change is seen during childhood and adolescence

Answer 1

body proportions

body composition

stance

calorie utalisation

thermoregulation

psychology

social

Question 2

Name and define the 6 stages of chronological age of children

Answer 2

Neonatal (birth - 4 weeks)

Infancy (5 weeks - 1 year)

Early childhood (2 years - 6 years)

Middle childhood (7-10)

Late childhood (pre-pubertal stage)

Adolescence (onset of puberty - maturity)
Usually around 5 years duration

Question 3

Define the term ‘growth’ as it relates to child development

Name three ways in which growth can occur

Answer 3

a change in either the size of the whole individual

or change in the size of parts of an individual

hyperplasia
hypertrophy
accretion

Question 4

Define the terms:

Maturation
timing (of maturation)
tempo (of maturation)

Answer 4

The process of being mature or of progressing towards maturity

timing = age at which an event occurs

tempo = speed at which progression to maturation occurs

Question 5

define the two sub-divisions of development

Answer 5

Biological: process of differentiation

Behavioral: development of competence in a variety of interrelated domains which are culturally specific

cognitive, emotional, social and moral domains

Question 6

Explain why is there variation seen in the maturity of children and adolescents

at which age is this variation generally greatest for boys and girls

Answer 6

timing and tempo of passing through developmental stages varies between individuals
could result in up to a 5 year difference in level of biological maturity

12 for girls
14 for boys

Question 7

Does early or late maturity increase the chance of a boy becoming an elite athlete and why is this thought to be the case

Answer 7

early

they become relatively more powerful than their pears

Question 8

At what age is there a growth spurt, other than the adolsecent growth spurt

Answer 8

2-4 years

but isn’t a very dramatic one

Question 9

Describe the pattern of child growth and define the term saltation

Answer 9

Not a continuous process

People grow in step-wise increments

Have periods of no growth for 2-100 days

Can then grow 0.5 - 2.5cm in a 24 hour window

Saltation describes this process and means stepwise increments in growth

Question 10

Explain why adult males are on average, taller than adult females

Answer 10

Longer growth spurt

greater magnitude of growth spurt, around 2cm/year greater during PHV

Later growth spurt, so have two extra years of pre-adolescent growth

Stop growing later (18 rather than 15)

Question 11

Outline the sex differences in structural growth pattern

Answer 11

After puberty women have a greater proportion of total height above the waist
As a result sitting height is generally larger in women

After puberty the ratio of shoulder to hip width is relatively larger in men

Question 12

Give reasons to support the use of BMI as a measurement in children

Answer 12

Valuable tool for a population survey of weight status

Is significantly correlated with FM and FFM in children

Question 13

Give reasons why the use of BMI has limitations, specifically relating to its use in children

Answer 13

Not a measure of body composition

May not accurately predict body fat because there is large variation in the level of correlation in children

percentage body fat associated with each cut off varies with age

doesn’t take into account location of fat

doesn’t take into consideration ethnic variation

change in BMI could be due to APHV rather than due to change in weight