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Attained growth of privileged Saudi children during the first three years of life
1Department of Pediatrics, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Saudi children exhibit genetic potential for growth matching Western standards. Environmental factors, not ethnicity, likely explain growth disparities in other Saudi child populations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Growth Assessment
- Nutritional Anthropology
Background:
- Assessing growth in Saudi children aged 0-36 months is crucial for understanding developmental trajectories.
- Previous studies suggested potential growth differences in Saudi populations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the attained growth of privileged Saudi children (0-36 months) against established Western standards.
- To determine if genetic potential for growth aligns with international norms.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional measurements of weight, height, weight-for-height, and head circumference.
- Standardization of individual data against National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and other Western references.
- Stratification of data by age groups for detailed analysis.
Main Results:
- Birth weights of Saudi boys and girls were comparable to NCHS reference means.
- Standardized attained weight, height, and weight-for-height showed trivial differences compared to NCHS reference across age groups.
- Standardized head circumference closely matched Western standards (Westrup and Barber).
Conclusions:
- Privileged Saudi children possess the genetic potential to achieve growth comparable to Western standards.
- Observed growth deficits in other Saudi child cohorts are more likely attributable to environmental influences than inherent ethnic factors.
Abstract:
The attained growth was assessed in privileged Saudi children 0-36 months of age. Birth weights were measured on all children but subsequent measurements were cross-sectional. The mean (SD) birth weight of boys, 3362 (445) g, and that of girls 3186 (490) g, did not differ significantly from the means of the NCHS reference. Individual data on weight, height, weight for height and head circumference of older children were standardized according to Western standards. When the material was stratified according to age groups, the differencies were trivial between the standardized means of attained weight, height and weight for height of Saudi children and those of the NCHS reference. Similarly, the standardized mean head circumference was nearly identical with that of the standard of Westrup and Barber. Except for weight for height, the differencies in the distribution of SD scores were trivial compared with the standards. The data indicated that Saudi children have the genetic potential to grow according to Western standards, and that poor growth found in other groups of Saudi children are likely to be caused by environmental rather than by ethnic factors.