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The applicability of North American growth standards in developing countries
Insights
Current North American growth standards are inadequate for assessing children and populations globally and even within North America. Dental and bone development in most groups exceed these standards, necessitating more personalized assessment methods.
Area of Science:
- Human growth and development
- Nutritional assessment
- Anthropometry
Background:
- Current North American standards for child development and nutritional assessment may not be universally applicable.
- Variations exist across diverse global populations and even within North America.
- Existing standards may not accurately reflect individual or population-level growth trajectories.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the limitations of current North American growth standards.
- To highlight the inadequacy of these standards for diverse populations and individuals.
- To propose more realistic assessment methods for developmental and nutritional evaluations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of existing data on growth, maturation, and development across various populations.
- Comparison of North American standards with observed developmental milestones in different ethnic groups.
- Critique of anthropometric measures like stature and weight-to-height ratios.
Main Results:
- Developmental and ossification progress in most human groups often precedes North American standards.
- Stature and simple weight-to-height ratios are insufficient as universal reference standards.
- Existing averages neglect crucial factors like parental size, limiting their applicability.
Conclusions:
- Reliance on current North American standards for developmental and nutritional assessment is often inappropriate.
- Age-size tables incorporating parental stature offer a more realistic approach for children with known parentage.
- A revised approach is needed to account for genetic and environmental factors in growth assessment.
Abstract:
For the purpose of developmental evaluation of growing children and the nutritional assessment of individuals or populations, reliance on current North American standards for size, maturational timing, body fatness or osseous development may be unwise not only with respect to various African, Asiatic and Pacific populations but often with respect to adults and children in North America. In particular, the dental development and early ossification progress of most human groups are in advance of contemporary North American standards. The use of stature as a reference standard and the simple ratio of weight to height are both unsatisfactory measures except within clearly defined population samples. At the very least, age-size tables based on parental statures would be more realistic and useful for children of known parentage, whereas present-day averages that neglect parental size are most applicable to foundlings and illegitimate children.