Malnutrition and Catch-Up Growth during Childhood and Puberty

This chapter reviews important recent papers related to catch-up growth. Catch-up growth is generally defined as body growth that (1) is more rapid than normal for age and (2) follows a period of growth inhibition. As can be seen by the studies reviewed in this chapter, catch-up growth can occur after either pre- or postnatal growth inhibition, can show a variety of temporal patterns, and can be either complete (yielding a normal adult body size) or incomplete. These studies explore the implications of catchup growth not only for adult body size but also for pubertal timing, bone strength, and the risk of metabolic syndrome.