Majallah-i Dānishgāh-i ̒Ulūm-i Pizishkī-i Bābul (Jan 2000)
Height and weight of 2-6 year old pre-school children, Kashan, 1998
Abstract
Objective: Height and weight reflects growth status in children. For comparison standard data from the same race should be used unfortunately we have not yet conducted such a study on healthy Iranian children, so we have to use the data from developed countries as a reference. The purpose of this study is to find the normal range of weight and height in Kashani. The collected data are compared with their foreign counterparts. Methods: Early in 1998, a cross-sectional study was performed on 8543 healthy girls and boys. Height and weight were measured in these two to six year old children by health personnels in health centers in both urban and rural areas of Kashan. All health personnels had already participated in a special educational class before attending this study. The data collected over a 40-day period. We measured the weights with standard scales (Seca-Detecto-Smic) of the children with minimal clothing. Findings: In all age groups boys had a higher height and weight than girls. Similarly, urban children had higher values than their rural counterparts. There was a positive and direct correlation between height and weight. The correlation coefficient was (+0.45 – +0.75) and (+0.62 – +0.69) for girls and boys respectively. Conclusion: Weight and height values of Kashani children are different with their counterparts in other parts of the world. Therefore NCHS standards and the other similar foreign studies could not be accepted as references for our children especially those who live in Kashan. It is recommended to find the appropriate standards in our country.
