A Census of Body Growth and Development in Children from Guangzhou Municipal Kindergartens

Objective:To investigate the situation of body growth and development,morbidity of obesity and probability of premature puberty in children from Guangzhou municipal kindergartens.Methods: 1 788 children aged 3 to 7 years old from 3 municipal kindergartens were assessed for height,body weight and sexual characteristics.Results: the height and body weight of the assessed subjects were significantly increased as compared with the normal national average in 1985 and a bit higher than the 1995 average.Obesity was found in 3.4% of the children,mainly in those aged over 5.5,most of whom were with mild obesity and the rate of obesity was not different between the both gender.About 1.5% of girls showed development of the breasts,while none of the boys showed development of secondary sexual characteristics.Conclusion: the average of body height and weight in Guangzhou children are a bit higher than they were 8 years ago,and significantly higher than the national average recorded 18 years ago.There was no evidence of premature puberty in these children.