Italian cross-sectional growth charts for height, weight and BMI (6–20 y)

Abstract

Objective To trace growth charts for height, weight and body mass index (BMI) that apply to the whole Italian population. Different charts were drawn for central-north and south Italy since children in central-north regions are known to be taller and leaner. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: A sample of schoolchildren covering 16 of the 20 Italian regions, with data collected between 1994 and 2000. Subjects: A total of 27 421 girls and 27 374 boys, aged 6 -20 y. Methods: Height and weight were measured using portable Harpenden stadiometers and properly calibrated scales, respectively. SIEDP references are presented both as centiles and as LMS curves for the calculation of standard deviation scores. According to International Obesity Task Force, SIEDP charts for BMI include the limits for overweight and obesity, ie the centiles having, at 18 y of age, the value of 25 and 30 kg=m 2 , respectively. Results: The comparison between SIEDP and Tanner et al's charts for height, still in use among most Italian paediatricians, shows that before puberty Italian children are 2 -4 cm taller than their English peers. Because of these differences, Tanner's charts fail to detect, when applied to Italian children, 50 -90% of short children aged 6 -11 y, ie with stature below the 3rd centile of their reference population. Rolland-Cachera et al's centiles for BMI are lower than those of SIEDP standards, mainly during adolescence (up to 6.6 kg=m 2 for the 97th centile), and apply poorly to Italian children. The prevalence of overweight is 27 (boys) and 19% (girls) in south Italy vs 17 (boys) and 10% (girls) in central-north Italy. Conclusions: These references intend to supply Italian paediatricians with a tool that avoids the use of outdated or inadequate charts, and thus should be suitable for monitoring their patients' growth. Sponsorship: Italian Society for Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (SIEDP).

Design and implementation of the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence Cross-Sectional Study

“…We used the body mass index means and standard deviations published earlier in the literature. 10,11 As we decided to evaluate complete school classes (cluster) to randomize as much as possible, we believed that the classes had a minimum of 20 students per class, the distribution by sex is similar to that of the population in general, and that in both schools and classes there are boys and girls. We assumed that age is similar because of attending the same class, but not identical, that there would be a low percentage of students who would refuse to participate in the study, and that there would also be a small percentage of invalid questionnaires.…”

Metabolic syndrome in obese Caucasian children: prevalence using WHO-derived criteria and association with nontraditional cardiovascular risk factors

“…Subjects were eligible if their BMI exceeded the age-and sex-adjusted 97th BMI percentile, which defines obesity according to the Italian BMI charts. 11 Exclusion criteria were secondary obesity, known diabetes and the use of any drug. Anthropometric measures, blood pressure (BP) and fasting blood samples for glucose and lipids measurements were taken in both control and obese children.…”

“…They were of normal weight except for 129 subjects who were overweight as defined by a BMIX85th and p97th percentile for age and sex according to Italian population charts. 11 In order to investigate the relation between nontraditional CVD risk factors and the MS, in the 206 most recently enrolled obese children, albumin excretion rate (AER), uric acid, PAI-1, fibrinogen, CRP, IL-6 and WBC count were measured.…”

Nutritional status following malaria control in a Vietnamese ethnic minority commune

“…Correct interpretation of anthropometric measures is important because they are used to detect subjects or populations at risk for poor health and to design and follow up health interventions (Chilima & Ismail, 1998). In industrialised countries, reference tables are usually available and regularly updated (Freeman et al, 1995;Chinn et al, 1996;Fredriks et al, 2000;Cacciari et al, 2002;Ogden et al, 2002). In developing countries, local reference tables are often not available and thus reference tables from industrialised countries are used instead.…”