Physical size of 1887 aboriginal schoolchildren in the Kimberley region

This study has documented the weights and heights of 1887 Aboriginal schoolchildren from communities throughout the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The data have been analysed in relation to age and sex. Median weights and heights of the Aboriginal children approximated the 10th percentile for weight, and the 25th percentile for height of non-Aboriginal WA children. The data show that Aboriginal children who live in the more remote communities of the Kimberley region were smaller in weight and height than were those who lived in the towns. Retrospective data indicate that these differences between children from remote and town communities were present at their birth and through childhood. Median body mass indices (BMIs) approximated the 10th percentile values for BMI of non-Aboriginal children in the earlier years. The expected increase in BMI with age occurred later in Aboriginal children (at 11-12 years) than in non-Aboriginal children (eight years); in the older Aboriginal children (older than 11-12 years) median values approximated 25th percentile values of non-Aboriginal boys and 50th percentile values of non-Aboriginal girls of the same age.