A common problem in pediatrics in which infants or young children show delayed physical growth, often with impaired social and motor development. Nonorganic failure to thrive is thought to be associated with lack of adequate emotional nurturing.
Term usually referring to infants and children who fail to grow and develop in the normal way but in whom no definitive cause for this failure can be identified. The term can also be used to refer to the elderly who appear ill for no apparent cause.
A lag in growth and development behind the expected rate for a child’s age and sex. It most often affects children younger than age 5, especially those 2 and younger. Failure to thrive, also called FTT, refers to a cluster of symptoms rather than a specific disease. Among those symptoms are the failure to gain weight and length. Physical characteristics are often accompanied by developmental delays. For example, a failure to thrive may cause children to sit up, crawl, or walk later than their peers.
A condition in which infants and children not only fail to gain weight but also may lose it, or in which older persons lose the physiological or psychosocial reserves needed to care for themselves. The causes include almost any chronic and debilitating condition.
When an infant or toddler doesn’t grow as expected, it’s typically evaluated by comparing the pace of their weight gain to the standards depicted on a growth chart.
An unidentified minor ailment, like a urinary infection, might be the reason behind the lack of growth. In some instances, failure to thrive could indicate a severe condition such as inborn heart disease or kidney failure. Emotional or physical neglect can also lead to failure to thrive, particularly if the child is malnourished or overlooked. A child who isn’t growing at the expected rate requires medical tests to identify the underlying cause.