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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
09:36

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study

Published on: February 2, 2017

Implications of using World Health Organization growth reference (2007) for identifying growth problems in Hong Kong

H K So1, E A S Nelson, R Y T Sung

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 6/F Clinical Science Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Medical Journal = Xianggang Yi Xue Za Zhi
|June 4, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Replacing Hong Kong

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric endocrinology and growth monitoring.
  • Public health and anthropometric reference standards.

Background:

  • Current growth references in Hong Kong (HK1993) may not align with international standards.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO2007) provides updated growth references for children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the implications of using WHO2007 growth references versus HK1993 for children aged 6-18 years in Hong Kong.
  • To assess the impact on classifying short stature, underweight, and obesity.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study involving 14,842 children and adolescents (aged 6-18 years).
  • Data collected from 36 primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong (2005/06).
  • Age-specific z-scores calculated using both HK1993 and WHO2007 references for height, weight, and BMI.

Main Results:

  • WHO2007 identified more children with short stature (1.4% in 6-10 years, 2.8% in 11-18 years) compared to HK1993.
  • WHO2007 increased classifications of underweight (3.5% and 5.5%) and obesity (2.1% and 1.6%) in the respective age groups.
  • Significant differences in anthropometric classifications between the two reference standards.

Conclusions:

  • Adopting WHO2007 may lead to 'over-diagnosis,' increasing clinical workload and parental anxiety.
  • HK1993 references may be more appropriate for clinical practice in Hong Kong.
  • WHO2007 could be valuable for international comparative studies.
Abstract

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