A survey of height and weight of children and adolescents iI Kerman ,Iran, in 1997

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the height(Ht) and weight(Wr) of Kermanian student aged 6-17 years.for this purpose in a cross- sectional study by a multi- stage sampling method,3419 healthy girls and 3287 healthy boys were studied for Ht and Wt. For a more precise evaluation of results the students were divided into two groups: 6-10 ( first group) and 11-17 years old( second group). In the first group there was no significant difference between the Ht and the Wt of girls and boys, but only the 6 years old boys were taller and heavier than their peers ( p<0.05). In 10-13 years children ,boys were shorter and lighter than girls but after that their Ht and Wt surpassed the girls. Comparing with the national studied , in the first group (6-10 years old) the median Ht of girls and boys in Kerman city is significantly higher than those of their peers in Shiraz, Mashhad and Golan. The median Wt of this group is significantly higher than Shirazian children but significantly lower than Tehranian peers. In the second group(11-17 years old) the median Ht of girls and boys in Kerman city is significantly higher than that of their peers in Mashhad, Tehran, Golan and Isfahan. The median Wt of the boys in this group is higher than that of their peers in Mashhad, Golan and Isfahan but lower than their peers in Tehran. The median Wt of the girls is higher than their peers in Isfahan. Comparing with NCHS data, the Ht and Wt of Kermanian girls and boys are significantly lower than those of their American peers. Therefore , using the foreign charts causes false evaluation of many children as being underweight or short stature. Therefore it is suggested that in Iran and preferably in any geographic part of it, growth chart s for prepared based on the special local indices.