Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 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

Comparison of the World Health Organization growth velocity standards with existing US reference data

Mercedes de Onis1, Amani Siyam, Elaine Borghi

  • 1Department of Nutrition, World Health Organization, 20 Avenue Appia, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland. deonism@who.int

Pediatrics
|June 29, 2011
PubMed

Insights

The World Health Organization (WHO) growth velocity standards differ from US child data, particularly for weight and length gains. WHO standards are recommended for assessing growth velocity and clinical decisions in US children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Growth and Development
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Accurate growth assessment is crucial for child health.
  • Existing growth velocity standards may not fully represent diverse populations.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) provides global growth standards.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare World Health Organization (WHO) growth velocity standards with reference data derived from US children.
  • To identify discrepancies in weight and length velocity between WHO standards and US-based data.

Main Methods:

  • Compared serial weight and length gain data from US children against WHO child growth standards.
  • Analyzed weight velocities for boys and girls across percentiles (5th-95th) at various intervals (1-3 months) up to 24 months.
  • Compared length velocities at 2- and 3-month intervals up to 24 months.

Main Results:

  • WHO and US weight increments showed similarity at the 5th percentile up to 3 months; other US percentiles were lower than WHO.
  • US weight values converged to a narrower range than WHO standards from 3 months onward.
  • Length medians were similar, but outer US percentiles for length also converged with age compared to WHO standards.

Conclusions:

  • Significant differences exist between WHO growth velocity standards and US-based reference data.
  • WHO growth velocity standards are suggested as a superior tool for growth assessment and clinical decision-making in US children.
Abstract

More Related Videos

Pairwise Growth Competition Assay for Determining the Replication Fitness of Human Immunodeficiency Viruses11:19

Pairwise Growth Competition Assay for Determining the Replication Fitness of Human Immunodeficiency Viruses

Published on: May 4, 2015

Precise, High-throughput Analysis of Bacterial Growth09:00

Precise, High-throughput Analysis of Bacterial Growth

Published on: September 19, 2017

Related Concept Videos

Population Growth00:57

Population Growth

Population size is dynamic, increasing with birth rates and immigration, and decreasing with death rates and emigration. In ideal conditions with unlimited resources, populations can increase exponentially, which plots as a J-shaped growth rate curve of population size against time. This type of curve is characteristic of newly-introduced invasive species, or populations that have suffered catastrophic declines and are rebounding.
Microbial Growth Measurement: Indirect Methods01:27

Microbial Growth Measurement: Indirect Methods

Estimating microbial growth is essential for understanding population dynamics and environmental adaptations. Indirect methods provide valuable insights by measuring parameters such as turbidity, metabolic activity, and biomass, enabling efficient and reproducible assessments.During exponential growth, microbial cells scatter light proportionally to their biomass, a principle used in turbidity measurements. About one million cells per milliliter produce detectable scattering, which a...
Microbial Growth Measurement: Direct Methods01:23

Microbial Growth Measurement: Direct Methods

Direct methods for measuring microbial populations in a culture are essential tools in microbiology, providing quantitative data for various applications. Among these, microscopic counts, plate counts, and serial dilution are widely used techniques, each with unique principles and applications.Microscopic CountsMicroscopic counting involves the use of a Petroff-Hausser chamber, a specialized microscope slide with a grid and defined depth. By observing a liquid culture under a microscope,...
Exponential Equations for Modeling Growth01:26

Exponential Equations for Modeling Growth

Exponential models are essential for describing rapid, multiplicative changes in natural systems, such as population growth. When a population doubles at regular intervals, the process can be modeled using a suitable base. For instance, a bacterial culture that doubles every three hours follows the model n(t)=n0⋅2t/3, where n(t) is the population at the time t.A more general model uses the natural base e, especially for continuous growth. This takes the form n(t)=n0⋅ert, where r is the relative...
International Nursing Organizations II01:28

International Nursing Organizations II

The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Geneva. The WHO has many initiatives that center around health. Primarily, they lead global efforts to expand universal health coverage using science-based policies and programs. They are also responsible for shaping health research agendas and developing norms and standards.
The WHO provides expert team support, including funding, vaccines, testing, and treatment tools at the country level to fight...
Bioequivalence Data: Statistical Interpretation01:16

Bioequivalence Data: Statistical Interpretation

The statistical interpretation of bioequivalence data is a significant aspect of pharmaceutical research. Bioequivalence refers to the absence of any significant difference in the rate and extent to which the active ingredient in pharmaceutical products becomes available at the site of drug action when administered at the same molar dose under similar conditions. This helps determine if different drug products have similar absorption rates, ensuring their interchangeability.Statistical...