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Japanese growth charts stratified by birth weight in 500-gram increments: Findings from the Japan Environment and

Takeshi Yamaguchi1,2, Naomi Tamura1, Hiroyoshi Iwata1

  • 1Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.

Clinical Pediatric Endocrinology : Case Reports and Clinical Investigations : Official Journal of the Japanese Society for Pediatric Endocrinology
|October 6, 2025
PubMed

Insights

New growth charts track child development based on birth weight. Infants born small showed improved growth, while larger infants

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Human Growth and Development
  • Biostatistics

Background:

  • Growth charts are critical for assessing child development.
  • Birth weight is a significant factor influencing early growth trajectories.
  • Existing growth charts may not adequately represent diverse birth weight populations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop novel growth charts stratified by birth weight.
  • To analyze early childhood growth patterns across different birth weight categories.
  • To provide a tool for accurate monitoring of children born small or large for gestational age.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of a nationwide Japanese birth cohort (n=98,987).
  • Creation of eight growth charts categorized by 500-gram birth weight increments.
  • Calculation of length/height and weight standard deviation (SD) scores at birth and 4 years of age.

Main Results:

  • Infants with birth weight < 2,500 g demonstrated substantial catch-up growth in height and weight by age 4.
  • Specifically, infants weighing 500-999 g saw their average length/height SD scores improve from -6.40/-8.20 to -1.26/-1.17 (boys/girls).
  • Infants with birth weight ≥ 3,500 g exhibited a decrease in height and weight SD scores by age 4, with those ≥ 4,000 g showing a reduction from positive to near-average SD scores.

Conclusions:

  • Birth weight significantly impacts early childhood growth trajectories.
  • The developed birth weight-stratified growth charts offer a precise tool for monitoring growth in infants born small or large.
  • These charts are valuable for clinical practice and public health initiatives in pediatric growth assessment.

Keywords:
birth weightbody length/heightbody weightgrowth chartgrowth trajectory in early childhood

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