It is important to differentiate risk factors from causes. Major risk factors to be considered include an unsafe, dirty environment, history of parental psychiatric illness, substance abuse, marital conflict, low birth weight, chromosomal disorders and dental caries.

• Risk factors may be environmental, psychological or pathological. “Failure to Thrive: A Practical Guide – American Family Physician”.
• These include^[1][2][3][4] :
  1. Family dysfunction – financial difficulties, marital feuds, infidelity, geographic moves
  2. Lack of support systems – relatives, neighbors, or friends
  3. Poor parenting skills,
  4. Parents with psychiatric illnesses (e.g. postpartum depression) or those with a history of substance abuse
  5. Medical Conditions predisposing to increase calorie expenditure and decreased calorie absorption/intake. (refer to the ‘causes’ microchapter of this page)
  6. Low birth weight
  7. Dental caries
  8. Tongue tie
  9. Prematurity

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