Failure to Thrive is best defined as what?

• A. Delayed cognitive development
• B. Chronic fatigue
• C. Inadequate growth in infant
• D. Excessive weight gain

Answer: (C)

Failure to thrive is inadequate growth in an infant. It shows up as poor weight gain and a drop or stagnation in growth percentiles on standard charts, often with weight-for-age below the 5th percentile or crossing major percentile lines over time. This reflects insufficient calories or problems with nutrient absorption, leading to growth faltering. It’s a sign of underlying issues—nutritional, gastrointestinal, chronic illness, or psychosocial factors—not a cognitive or fatigue problem, and not excessive weight gain. The key idea is that the infant isn’t growing as expected for their age and sex, indicating a need to evaluate intake, health, and living conditions to address the cause and support catch-up growth.