Title: Children worldwide can grow to the same height, says WHO.

POPLINE Document Number: 299899

Author(s):

Kmietowicz Z

Source citation:

BMJ. British Medical Journal, 2006 May 6;332(7549):1052.

Abstract:

New growth charts for infants and young children can be applied globally, says the World Health Organization. The charts will enable doctors and others to detect and tackle growth related conditions, such as undernutrition, overweight, and obesity, at an early stage. The new child growth standards confirm that children given healthy growth conditions born anywhere in the world--be it India, Brazil, or Norway--have the potential to develop to within the same range of height and weight. They prove that differences in children's growth to the age of 5 are influenced more by nutrition, feeding practices, environment, and health care than by genetics and ethnic group. "The WHO child growth standards provide new means to support every child to get the best chance to develop in the most important formative years," said Dr Lee Jong-wook, WHO's director general. "In this regard, this tool will serve to reduce death and disease in infants and young children." (excerpt)

Keywords:

Recommendations
Evaluation Indexes
Children
WHO
Body Height
Growth
Standards
Health Status Indexes
Quantitative Evaluation
Evaluation
Youth
Age Factors
Population Characteristics
Demographic Factors
Population
UN
International Agencies
Organizations
Political Factors
Sociocultural Factors
Physiology
Biology
Child Development
Research Methodology
Health