Local Standards for Anthropometric Measurements in Children and Adolescents of Magadan: Report 1

Abstract

Background: The recent expansion of scientific knowledge of child development under effect of man-made environmental changes is of great importance for monitoring health of the younger generation and elaborating the theory of adaptation in terms of ontogenesis. Objective: To develop regional standards for the main anthropometric parameters used to assess growth and physical devel- opment of children and adolescents in the city of Magadan. Materials and methods: We analyzed data on 4,660 schoolchildren (2,295 boys and 2,365 girls) aged 8–17 years collected in 2009–2019. The main anthropometric measurements, including body height, weight, and chest circumference, were taken to estimate reference centile row variables. Results: We created centile tables based on the results of measuring body height, weight, and chest circumference in the study population and established that in local boys, all findings were above the upper limit of the national averages (i.e., the range of 25th to 75th percentiles) while in girls, the same was true only for body weight and chest circumference. The maximum difference between body measurements and the respective upper limits was observed in the adolescents. Distribution of an- thropometric parameters of the schoolchildren by the regional standard centile rows indicates compliance with the average body height and weight in 50.0 % and 50.1 % and with chest circumference – in 49.0 % of the children, while deviations, less than the 3rd and equal to and more than the 97th percentile, occurred in 2.0 % to 5.5 % of the cases, respectively. Conclusion: It is important to continue developing up-to-date regional child growth standards in the city of Magadan and to introduce them into the practice of preventive health screening.