[Growth hormone secretion and nutrition]

Growth hormone has direct and indirect actions through which it stimulates growth of skeletal and other tissues and influences the availability of metabolic fuels. The growth promoting actions of growth hormone are indirect and mediated through generations of insulin-like growth factors. The direct actions of growth hormone are predominantly antagonist to insulin, although there are acute insulin-like effect of physiological significance. Growth hormone release is determined by a dynamic equilibrium between the inhibitory and stimulatory hypothalamic peptides, somatostatin and growth hormone-releasing hormone. The hypothalamic-pituitary response may be influenced by age, sex, insulin, thyroid and steroid hormone, and nutritional status. There is an important interrelationship between the action of growth hormone, nutrition and growth.