Ninety years apart: Comparing pediatric growth charts used in Australia in the 1930s against modern standards

Growth charts have evolved since their introduction in the 18th century, with various organizations refining them to reflect the growth patterns of the populations they serve. In this context, this study compared growth tables published in a 1930s Australian child-health text by Dr. Isie Ross with contemporary growth charts used in pediatric practice.

Values from Ross's historical growth tables were extracted and plotted against current standardized growth references for children (WHO and CDC). Both Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Bland-Altman analysis were used to assess agreement and differences between the two data sources.

Growth patterns from the 1930s showed some similarity to those in modern charts, with relatively small variation across most age groups, suggesting broad stability in early childhood growth over time. Clinically, however, the findings indicate limited applicability of historical references for assessing overweight, with greater secular change and variability observed at the upper growth percentiles. Overall, this highlights population-level stability in growth trajectories but poor clinical interchangeability between historical and contemporary references.

Historical growth data may be more consistent with contemporary standards than commonly assumed. Examining such texts can enhance awareness of early contributions to pediatric growth assessment and highlighting the continued relevance of foundational work in child health despite its limited clinical interchangeability with modern references.