New growth standards for the 21st century: a prescriptive approach

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Human Growth and Development
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Current international growth curves may not accurately reflect the growth patterns of exclusively breast-fed infants.
• Previous observations indicated differences in growth rates, including height and weight, for breast-fed versus formula-fed babies.
• Variability in growth patterns among breast-fed infants suggests a need for specific reference standards.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish global growth curves for exclusively breast-fed infants.
• To determine if breast-fed infants' growth patterns represent an optimal standard.
• To compare growth patterns across diverse international populations under optimal feeding conditions.

Main Methods:

• The Multi-Country Growth Reference Study (MGRS) was conducted from 1997 to 2003.
• Population-based data were collected from six diverse international sites.
• The study focused on infants and children under optimal breast-feeding, weaning, and early feeding conditions.

Main Results:

• The study confirmed previous observations of distinct growth patterns in breast-fed infants.
• Greater growth rates in height and smaller increases in body weight were observed.
• Substantial variability in growth patterns was noted within population groups, rather than between international groups.

Conclusions:

• Existing international growth curves require revision to accurately represent exclusively breast-fed infants.
• Growth patterns of breast-fed infants may serve as an optimum standard for child development.
• Intra-population variability is a key factor in infant growth, underscoring the need for context-specific growth references.