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WHO 2006 Acta Paediatr

From Bioblast
Publications in the MiPMap
WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group (2006) WHO Child Growth Standards based on length/height, weight and age. Acta Paediatr Suppl 450:76-85.

» PMID: 16817681 Open Access

WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study Group (2006) Acta Paediatr

Abstract: AIM: To describe the methods used to construct the WHO Child Growth Standards based on length/height, weight and age, and to present resulting growth charts.

METHODS: The WHO Child Growth Standards were derived from an international sample of healthy breastfed infants and young children raised in environments that do not constrain growth. Rigorous methods of data collection and standardized procedures across study sites yielded very high-quality data. The generation of the standards followed methodical, state-of-the-art statistical methodologies. The Box-Cox power exponential (BCPE) method, with curve smoothing by cubic splines, was used to construct the curves. The BCPE accommodates various kinds of distributions, from normal to skewed or kurtotic, as necessary. A set of diagnostic tools was used to detect possible biases in estimated percentiles or z-score curves.

RESULTS: There was wide variability in the degrees of freedom required for the cubic splines to achieve the best model. Except for length/height-for-age, which followed a normal distribution, all other standards needed to model skewness but not kurtosis. Length-for-age and height-for-age standards were constructed by fitting a unique model that reflected the 0.7-cm average difference between these two measurements. The concordance between smoothed percentile curves and empirical percentiles was excellent and free of bias. Percentiles and z-score curves for boys and girls aged 0-60 mo were generated for weight-for-age, length/height-for-age, weight-for-length/height (45 to 110 cm and 65 to 120 cm, respectively) and body mass index-for-age.

CONCLUSION: The WHO Child Growth Standards depict normal growth under optimal environmental conditions and can be used to assess children everywhere, regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic status and type of feeding.

Bioblast editor: Gnaiger E


Healthy reference population

» Healthy reference population, HRP
» de Onis M, Onyango AW, Borghi E, Siyam A, Nishida C, Siekmann J (2007) Development of a WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents. Bull World Health Organization 85:660-7. - »Bioblast link«


Publications: BME and height

» Height of humans
 Reference
Bosy-Westphal 2009 Br J NutrBosy-Westphal A, Plachta-Danielzik S, Dörhöfer RP, Müller MJ (2009) Short stature and obesity: positive association in adults but inverse association in children and adolescents. Br J Nutr 102:453-61.
De Onis 2007 Bull World Health Organizationde Onis M, Onyango AW, Borghi E, Siyam A, Nishida C, Siekmann J (2007) Development of a WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents. Bull World Health Organization 85:660-7.
Gnaiger 2019 MiP2019
Erich Gnaiger
OXPHOS capacity in human muscle tissue and body mass excess – the MitoEAGLE mission towards an integrative database (Version 6; 2020-01-12).
Hood 2019 Nutr DiabetesHood K, Ashcraft J, Watts K, Hong S, Choi W, Heymsfield SB, Gautam RK, Thomas D (2019) Allometric scaling of weight to height and resulting body mass index thresholds in two Asian populations. Nutr Diabetes 9:2. doi: 10.1038/s41387-018-0068-3.
Indian Academy of Pediatrics Growth Charts Committee 2015 Indian PediatrIndian Academy of Pediatrics Growth Charts Committee, Khadilkar V, Yadav S, Agrawal KK, Tamboli S, Banerjee M, Cherian A, Goyal JP, Khadilkar A, Kumaravel V, Mohan V, Narayanappa D, Ray I, Yewale V (2015) Revised IAP growth charts for height, weight and body mass index for 5- to 18-year-old Indian children. Indian Pediatr 52:47-55.
Zucker 1962 Committee on Biological Handbooks, Fed Amer Soc Exp BiolZucker TF (1962) Regression of standing and sitting weights on body weight: man. In: Growth including reproduction and morphological development. Altman PL, Dittmer DS, eds: Committee on Biological Handbooks, Fed Amer Soc Exp Biol:336-7.


Labels: MiParea: Gender, Developmental biology 


Organism: Human 

Preparation: Intact organism 




BMI, HRP, Height, BMI-cutoff