“Children grow slower during summer vacation”

A new study shows that children grow more slowly during summer vacation than during the months they spend in class five days a week.

It is often thought that children grow like weeds especially in the summer, but according to collaborating scientists from various universities in Texas and Illinois (USA), this is not true. In a study published in Limitations of Physiology They claim that children grow up faster in the months they spend in school.

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The scientists followed 7,599 Texas children for five years from the time they started kindergarten. It was measured and weighed by a nurse twice a year: once in mid-September, just after the end of summer vacation, and again in mid-April, shortly before the (very long) summer vacation began in the United States.

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It turned out that the children grew slower on average during the summer period than when they had school, but there were significant differences between the weight groups. On average, the number of children studied increased by about 0.05 cm per month during the school year compared to the summer vacation. But children who were chronically overweight or obese grew 0.11 cm less in the summer than in the school year. The rate at which all children gain weight does not vary from season to season, regardless of weight category.

Researchers have not yet determined the reasons for the mysterious difference. They think it has to do with the demands of the school schedule, among other things. Since they have to get up early, kids are up longer while the light is outside. More light helps with growth. In addition, children exercise more during the school year than outside it. Researchers also believe that they eat better and sleep better during those months. Then they go to bed on time; On average, an hour and a half before summer.

Sources: Frontiers in Physiology, EurekAlert!

Photo: Bastorius / Wikimedia Commons