In Support of Growth Awareness Week

Floor Speech

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Mr. HECK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Growth
Awareness Week.

How much a child grows is a major sign of his or her overall health.
If a child is failing to grow, it could mean that they are developing
serious medical problems. A child's height (either too much or too
little for their age) is one of nature's early warning signs--a visual
alarm for parents and physicians. According to the Pictures of Standard
Syndromes and Undiagnosed Malformations (POSSUM) database, more than
600 serious diseases and health conditions cause growth failure.

Many conditions which interfere with children's growth are treatable,
but according to the MAGIC Foundation for children's growth,
unfortunately 48% of children in the U.S. who were evaluated with the
two most common causes of growth failure went undiagnosed.

The longer a child with growth failure goes undiagnosed, the greater
the potential for damage and higher costs of care. Early detection and
diagnosis are crucial in ensuring a healthy future for a child with
growth failure.

Last year I was pleased that Congress recognized ``Growth Awareness
Week'' as the third week in September 2014. So today I ask my
colleagues to join me in permanently recognizing the third week in
September as ``Growth Awareness Week'' and to continue to raise public
awareness of growth failure to improve the lives and health of
children.

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