Re: NY Times article forarded by H.

[Guest guest]

This is a very interesting article, although I would like to read

the study specifics. There are quite a few studies that are

randomized, blind studies that have found the opposite to Sandberg

(he spoke this summer at the MAGIC convention).

And my other question is, what definition was " short " . A child who

is 2 standard deviations below the 3rd percentile (average for an

RSS child) versus a " short " child who is at the 3rd percentile.

Jenn

> From Today's New York Times:

>

> Childhood: Shortness Is No Stigma

>

> September 14, 2004

>

>

> A new study may give pause to parents considering seeking

> growth hormone treatments for their children because they

> are small in height.

>

> Researchers who surveyed almost 1,000 students said they

> had found no evidence to support the common assumption that

> people who are shorter than average - or, for that matter,

> taller - suffered a greater share of social problems than

> people of ordinary size. The study, led by Dr. E.

> Sandberg of the University at Buffalo, appears in the

> September issue of the journal Pediatrics.

>

> In the past, when human growth hormone could be obtained

> only from cadavers, its use was limited to children whose

> small size appeared to result from a hormone deficiency.

> But after 1985, when a synthetic version of the hormone

> became available, its use spread to children, mostly boys,

> who are simply short, the study said.

>

> The goal, the researchers said, is to spare children

> problems like teasing and loneliness. But no rigorous

> studies have shown being short to be a serious social

> liability.

>

> For the study, the researchers surveyed students attending

> grades 6 through 12 in a western New York public school

> system. The students, who were not told that height was the

> subject of the study, were asked to assess their own social

> status, as well as the status of their classmates. They

> were also asked questions like whether individual

> classmates were good leaders, had trouble making friends or

> were picked on a lot.

>

> The researchers then correlated the answers to each

> student's height. " In contradiction to the belief that

> height plays a role in youths' social functioning, few

> significant effects were observed, " the researchers wrote.

[Guest guest]

Not only did I read the article, I heard about it on the news the

day before.

Personally, I think it is ridiculus. Speaking as a short adult who

was a short kid, yes I had plenty of friends when I was little.

Now, there is a big difference between being below average and being

tiny.

Keep in mind, that this article didn't deal with any of the medical

complications of being SGA or just plain short.

Judith, Steve, (RSS) and (non RSS) 4 1/2 year old twins