[Comparison of stature growth curves in children and adolescents]

Growth charts of height in Chinese children and adolescents (excluding Taiwan and Hong Kong) in the 1980s and 1990s were fitted to JPA2 model to study their growth and developmental characteristics and their future trend and to compare them with the criteria for growth in the developed countries and areas. Results showed that fitted growth curves were comparable. The difference in body height of children in cities during puberty period was the most significant during the 1980s. Body height of boys and girls aged over seven to maturity period in Beijing during the 1990s was higher than that in Hong Kong and Japan, and reached basically the criteria set by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), United States, but body height of adults was still three to four centimeters lower than that in criteria set by NCHS. Body height in adolescents in Beijing was kept in stable as compared with that in the 1980s.