Examination of Children’s Height and Weight according to Standard NCHS Growth Curve: A cross-sectional Study in the Jiroft Township

Abstract

Introduction Measuring children's and adolescents’ height and weight are among the most important information sources and the best index forthe assessment of individual growth status and community’s nutrition and health status. Regular measurements of height and weight and recordingthe data on proper curves lead to the timely identification of growth disorders. The present study aimed at determining the average height, weight,and body mass index of 6-18-year-old boys and girls in Jiroft Town and comparing the results with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).Method In this study, the values for height, weight, and body mass index of 5850 children aged between 6 and 18 were examined in a stratifiedrandom fashion. Growth percentile curves for height, weight, and body mass index were plotted by Microsoft Excel Software.Results In comparison to the NCHS height and weight percentiles, the data of the present study showed lower values for the studied children.The comparison of BMI percentiles of boys and girls with NCHS percentiles for each age proved that until the age of 8, the BMI percentiles are fitto NCHS percentiles. This is while in older ages, the calculated BMI percentiles of males and females were remarkably lower than NCHSpercentiles.Conclusion Based on the results, it is generally concluded that using foreign criteria leads to a false diagnosis of underweight or shortness in somechildren and it is recommended to apply native and country-level percentiles for the examination of children’s growth.