Growth of urban schoolchildren in Botswana

Urban Tswana schoolchildren (721), aged 6 to 14 years, were measured for height, weight, triceps skinfold and upper arm circumference. Boys and girls at all ages exhibited mean heights and weights less than the 50th percentile values of American and British reference standards, with large numbers of children falling into the 10th percentile or lower based N.C.H.S. (National Center for Health Statistics) values. Weight-for-height percentile distributions did not show such large numbers in the lowest percentiles. Triceps skinfolds were smaller than those of British children and changed little in boys over the measured age range. Girls' skinfold values were more variable than boys', and in older girls approached British means. For both boys and girls, skinfolds showed a developmental pattern similar to those of other African children. Arm circumferences also developed as those of other urban African children, and by later ages were similar to those of British references. Differences between Batswana and Europeans may be due to smaller heights and weights of young Tswana adults when compared with their counterparts in developed countries, and also to growth tempo differences. Such tempo differences also exist between Batswana and other African groups.