The Healthy Diet »

If a normal child is adequately nourished he shows rapid growth in 1st year. Average weight at time of birth is 2700-2900 gm. Then the new born loose weight during 1st 3-4 days after which he starts gaining weight and regains within 7-10 days. After reaching to normal again, child starts gaining weight i.e. 25-30 gms a day.

	Average height & weight increments during 1st five years.
age	wt. increase per week
0-3 months	200 gm.
4-6 "	150 gm.
100 gm.	50-70 gm.
	wt. increase per year
1-2 yr.	2.5 Kg
3-5 yr	2 Kg
Age	Length increment per year
1st year	25 cm.
2nd year	12 cm.
3rd year	9 cm.
4th year	7 cm.

Babies double their normal birth weight at the age of 5 months and trebles it at 1 year of age but this does not apply to all the babies as if child's birth weight is low then he may double it at 3-4 months and at 1 year of age his weight can be 4 times his birth weight.

Normally, birth length is 46-50 cms. And at the age of about 1 year child is about 11/2 times' (see table.) Values given in height weight table are just average values according to growth curve pattern but individual child may differ depending upon different conditions.

Indian children show good pattern of growth till 3-4 months after which the growth curves flattened due to insufficiency of supplementary foods.