Let us understand what is growth? Growth may be defined as the quantitative increase in size or mass. When weight is measured in kilograms and height in centimeters from time to time, we can know how much growth has occurred in a child. When the organs of the body grow, the number, the size and the weight of their cells increase. Growth can be measured in terms of the change in length, width, depth and volume in a specific time period. Although growth is a characteristic of living beings, in all living beings, the rate of growth also depends on nutrition and living conditions, including the environment at home. Growth, development and maturation occur side by side. Growth is a quantitative increase in size through increase in number of cells or elongation of cells. Development may be defined as the progression of changes, both qualitative and quantitative, which lead to an undifferentiated mass of cells to a highly organized state. Maturation is a measure of functional capacity. For example, a child begins to speak by making unintelligible sounds. Then, slowly it acquires the capacity for speaking in a manner, which is easily understood by others. Another example of maturation is when a child begins to crawl and then matures to a state of walking on two legs. Similarly, organs of reproduction reach maturity at the end of puberty. Although age related events of growth, development and maturation in human beings are mostly the same in all cultures, however, some variations do exist. This is because growth is affected by both genetic and the environmental factors. Growth is also influenced by the socio cultural context. For example, in the economically backward families, the growth of family members gets stunted due to undernourishment. But even in economically sound households, the members may not be taking a nutritious diet. Many children who eat junk food all the time become obese. In fact, growth and development of a human being is a result of a combination of heredity and environment.