Weight, Height and Body Mass Index Nomograms; Early Adiposity Rebound in a Sample of Children in Tehran, Iran

BACKGROUND: Assessing growth is a useful tool for defining health and nutritional status of children. The objective of this study was to construct growth reference curves of Iranian infants and children (0-6 years old) and compare them with previous and international references. METHODS: Weight, height or length of 2107 Iranian infants and children aged 0-6 years old were measured using a cross-sectional survey in Tehran in 2010. Standard smooth reference curves for Iranian population were constructed and compared to multinational World Health Organization 2006 reference standards as well as a previous study from two decades ago. RESULTS: Growth index references for Iranian girls are increased in compare to data from two decades ago and are approximately close to the international references. In boys; however, the increment was considerably large as it passed the international references. Not only the values for indexes was changed during two decades, but also the age at adiposity rebound came near the age of 3, which is an important risk factor for later obesity. CONCLUSIONS: During two decades, growth indexes of Iranian children raised noticeable. Risk factors for later obesity are now apparent and demand immediate policy formulations. In addition, reference curves presented in this paper can be used as a diagnostic tool for monitoring growth of Iranian children.