Growth References for School Aged Children in Western Romania

Abstract

Aims. To provide growth references for school-aged children in western Romania, to compare them with other national and international growth charts and evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity. Methods. A total of 3731 children, aged 7-19 years, from Timis county, were examined by medical students, between February 2010-June 2011. Growth references for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were constructed with LMS method and LMSChartMaker software. The Romanian 3rd, 50th and 95th percentile for height and BMI were compared with national and international growth references. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined with IOTF definition. Results. Crude and smoothed percentiles for weight, height and BMI were shown for this population. The comparison provided data regarding the variation of growth models in different populations. Our results demonstrated a high prevalence of overweight (18.2%) and obesity (7.2%) in our population, higher in boys versus girls. Conclusions. Our study constructed growth references for a Romanian population. The comparison with other growth references reflected the regional differences in growth patterns between populations.