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A new international growth reference for young children
1Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and the Nutrition Programme, World Health Organization, Geneva.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
|July 7, 1999
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) is developing a new international growth reference for children up to 5 years old. This updated standard aims to better reflect optimal infant growth, addressing limitations of the current reference.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Anthropometry
Background:
- Current international growth references for infants are inadequate for assessing physiologic growth.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) identified limitations in existing anthropometric data interpretation.
- A need exists for an updated growth standard reflecting optimal child development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a new international anthropometric reference for children from birth to 5 years of age.
- To establish a growth standard that accurately represents optimal growth in young children.
- To provide a reliable tool for public health and clinical use.
Main Methods:
- Data collection via a longitudinal study of breast-fed infants (birth to 1 year).
- Data collection via a cross-sectional study of children aged 18-71 months.
- Sampling from diverse geographic locations globally.
Main Results:
- The study protocol is designed to create a single, international growth reference.
- The new reference will be based on optimal growth patterns.
- The methodology allows for future revisions based on new biological data.
Conclusions:
- A new WHO growth reference is being developed to improve child health monitoring.
- The reference will serve as a global standard for assessing optimal growth in children under 5.
- This initiative aims to enhance the accuracy and utility of anthropometric assessments.