Weighing Growth Hormones for Short Kids
Weighing Growth Hormones for Short Kids
Nov. 21, 2014 -- Melissa Chapman started looking into growth hormones for her 9-year-old son, Jackson, after he visited an amusement park with his cousin last summer.
Jackson was often turned away from rides after he fell short of the signs that say “you must be this tall.” His younger cousin, however, cleared them with ease.
“I don’t want him to feel like he’s not as good as anyone else -- that he’s not as special as anyone else, that he doesn’t have the same opportunities,” says Chapman, who lives in Staten Island, NY.
Even though Jackson is confident and outgoing and has never complained about his size, his parents recently took him to two specialists to see if he might be a good candidate for growth hormone shots that might add a few inches to his height.
“I think he’s going to go through puberty, and he’s going to be more aware of it, and it’s just going to kill me,” she says.
In 2003, the FDA approved synthetic human growth hormones for kids who are healthy and not low in growth hormone but might wind up shorter than 97% of their peers -- a condition termed idiopathic short stature.
As a result, an estimated 500,000 kids in the U.S. now qualify for the shots. That has sent a growing number of worried parents to doctors to weigh the pros and cons of the daily injections, which are expensive and won’t help in every case.
“Definitely we see more families coming in specifically saying they’re here for growth hormone, and we just have to say, ‘Wait a minute, let’s discuss what’s going on,’” says Laurie Cohen, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.
“Parents are concerned about what it means to be short,” Cohen says.
Studies have found that a soaring stature has definite social advantages. Taller men and women have higher salaries. Several studies have found that height is a priority for men and women when they are choosing their mate. And people seem to prefer tall leaders to short ones.
Weighing Growth Hormones for Short Kids
Nov. 21, 2014 -- Melissa Chapman started looking into growth hormones for her 9-year-old son, Jackson, after he visited an amusement park with his cousin last summer.
Jackson was often turned away from rides after he fell short of the signs that say “you must be this tall.” His younger cousin, however, cleared them with ease.
“I don’t want him to feel like he’s not as good as anyone else -- that he’s not as special as anyone else, that he doesn’t have the same opportunities,” says Chapman, who lives in Staten Island, NY.
Even though Jackson is confident and outgoing and has never complained about his size, his parents recently took him to two specialists to see if he might be a good candidate for growth hormone shots that might add a few inches to his height.
“I think he’s going to go through puberty, and he’s going to be more aware of it, and it’s just going to kill me,” she says.
In 2003, the FDA approved synthetic human growth hormones for kids who are healthy and not low in growth hormone but might wind up shorter than 97% of their peers -- a condition termed idiopathic short stature.
As a result, an estimated 500,000 kids in the U.S. now qualify for the shots. That has sent a growing number of worried parents to doctors to weigh the pros and cons of the daily injections, which are expensive and won’t help in every case.
“Definitely we see more families coming in specifically saying they’re here for growth hormone, and we just have to say, ‘Wait a minute, let’s discuss what’s going on,’” says Laurie Cohen, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.
“Parents are concerned about what it means to be short,” Cohen says.
Is Being Taller Better?
Studies have found that a soaring stature has definite social advantages. Taller men and women have higher salaries. Several studies have found that height is a priority for men and women when they are choosing their mate. And people seem to prefer tall leaders to short ones.
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