A study on assessment standard for height and body weight of children aged 6～11 years in urban Shanghai

To develop the standards of height for age (HFA), weight for age (WFA) and weight for height (WFH) for children aged 6～11 years in urban Shanghai and compare with those of WHO. ①Randomized stratified clustered sampling method was used. The data of height, weight measured in May, 1999 and the birthdays of 25981 children (13220 boys, 12761 girls) were collected from 31 primary schools of 12 districts in urban Shanghai. ②According to percentage the P 3～P 97, P 50±1s, P 50±2s and P 50±3s of HFA, WFA and WFH were calculated. Their standards were developed by exponential regression curve fitting soft ware. The P 50 curves of HFA, WFA and WFH for boys and girls in Shanghai were compared with those from WHO respectively. The trend of curves of HFA, WFA and WFH for boys aged 6～11y in urban Shanghai were similar to that in WHO, and the average value of height and weight in Shanghai was higher than those from WHO. This trend was also seen in girls. And the average value of HFA and WFA in Shanghai was higher than those from WHO, but that of WFH in Shanghai was a bit lower than that from WHO. [Conclusion] There is an obvious difference in the standards of HFA, WFA and WFH for children aged 6～11 years from urban Shanghai and WHO. The new standard can be used for assessment of growth and development for children aged 6～11y of Shanghai urban.