Q: My daughter is 12 months old. She weighs 7.28 kg and is 67 cm tall. Her birth weight was 2.70 kg. Presently her haemoglobin (Hb) is 8.8. The doctor says that her short stature is due to the low levels of haemoglobin. Her Hb at birth was 14.7. What kind of foods should I give her to normalise the Hb levels? Will she be able to attain a normal height? I am 5 feet 10 inches and my wife is 5 feet 3 inches.

A:The term short stature describes height that is significantly below the average height for a persons age, sex, racial group, or family. Growth failure is often confused with short stature. Growth failure that occurs over time eventually results in short stature. By definition, growth failure is a medical condition. However, short stature is often a normal variant.