Growth and development – an overview

Growth and Development refers to the various stages of human life, from birth to old age. Regardless of nationality, race, or caste, all human beings pass through similar phases—learning, forming relationships, acquiring skills, assuming responsibilities, and eventually experiencing decline and aging. This process follows a universal pattern of progression.

Growth refers to a quantitative increase in the size of body parts or the organism as a whole, such as height, weight, etc

Development is a process by which an individual grows and changes throughout the life cycle. It refers to a pattern of progressive changes, which have a direction, begin at conception, continue throughout life, and are highly dependent on environmental inputs. It cannot be quantified and qualitative in nature.

Maturation refers to the developmental changes that follow an orderly sequence, are influenced by inheritance and environmental factors, and culminate when the end stage of development has been reached. The order is fixed but the period for the development may vary.

Decline is a natural and inevitable part of the human life cycle. Two opposing processes occur simultaneously during development—evolution (growth) and involution (atrophy). Both growth and atrophy begin at birth and end at death where the growth predominates in the early part of life and atrophy predominates in the later part of life.

Difference between growth and development