Health Update: Short and swift

VITAMIN A supplements may speed growth in abnormally short children, a study from the Hopital Robert Debre in Paris suggests. Doctors there point out in the Lancet that slow growth in children is often caused by low levels of growth hormone (GH) secreted by the pituitary gland. Their study, involving 68 children, found that those suffering from low GH levels ate significantly less vitamin A than both normal-height and other short children. Vitamin A supplements taken over three months helped to increase GH levels in the short children.