AGOURA WEST-VALLEY PEDIATRICS

GROWTH AND NUTRITION

Monitoring your child's growth and nutrition is one of your primary responsiblities as parents.  If you have concerns about your child's nutrition or growth, these issues should be addressed with one of our physicians during an office appointment--particularly during a routine physical examination.  However, in order to assist you in monitoring your child in these areas, we offer the following web links where you can obtain additional information about pediatric growth and nutrition. BREASTFEEDING American Academy of Pediatrics Breastfeeding page Breastfeeding.com La Leche League C.D.C. Breastfeeding page Breastfeed for All International Lactation Consultant Association Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine

CHILD NUTRITION INFORMATION Meals Matter is your free online resource for planning and preparing healthy meals for you and your family.  The tools and resources will help you bring the principles of healthy eating to life. Meals Matter The Food Guide Pyramid Food Guide Pyramid for Kids     The California Food Guide The American Dietetic Association     Nutrition Page of the Keep Kids Healthy  website   Nutrition Information from the Centers for Disease Control     Nutrition Information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture     "We Can" Campaign of the National Institute of Health    "5 a Day" Fruit and Vegetable Information

PEDIATRIC GROWTH CHARTS With this web link you can view and download pediatric growth charts just like the ones we use in your child's chart to monitor growth and figure out his/her height and weight "percentiles".  The growth percentiles simply tell us how a child's height and weight compare to the "normal range" for a given age (for example, the 50th percentile represents the average height or weight for that age and gender).  There are separate growth charts for boys and girls.  Your child's doctor should  help you in determining the significance of your child's growth percentiles. www.keepkidshealthy.com/growthcharts/index.html

CHILDHOOD OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY  Our nation is currently in the midst of an epidemic of childhood obesity and overweight.  While there are many factors that are contributing to this growing problem, the bottom line is many children consume more calories than they need each day.  To make matters worse, too many children get an inadequate amount of regular physical activity.  If you are concerned that your child may be overweight, we encourage you to discuss this with one of our physicians.  The following websites contain a wealth of information about the pediatric obesity problem, including suggestions for improving your child's physical activity. Childhood Obesity Information American Academy of Pediatrics Obesity Information Centers for Disease Control Obesity Information    National Institutes of Health "We Can!" Campaign     Keep Kids Healthy Website Obesity Information     Weight Control Information Network (of the National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases)    U.S. Food And Drug Administration Obesity Information        Your Child's Body Mass Index The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a number calculated from your child's height and weight that may be used to determine if your child's weight is appropriate.  The following weblink provides more information on the this index and how to calculate your child's BMI and plot it on a chart to determine the BMI percentile.  BMI must be interpreted with some caution, and thus the best way to determine if your child's weight or BMI is normal is to discuss it with one of our physicians. CDC's BMI Calculator