[The growth rate of healthy children in the first 16 years: Bonn-Dortmund longitudinal developmental study]

Standards for supine length/height velocity from birth to 16 years (percentiles, mean and standard deviation) are presented, based on the longitudinal growth studies from Bonn and Dortmund. During the first two years of life growth velocity is twice to three times higher as in the following years. Many things point to the growth velocity during the first two years being of decisive significance for the observed secular acceleration of height. International comparisons with other longitudinal growth studies show a trend of somewhat higher growth velocity of the children from the Bonn and Dortmund studies.