Comparison of Updated Weight and Height Percentiles with Previous References in 6-17-Year-Old Children in Kayseri, Turkey

OBJECTIVE: To compare updated weight and height percentiles of 6-17-year-old children from all socio-economic levels in Kayseri with previous local references and other national/international data. METHODS: The second study “Determination of Anthropometric Measurements of Turkish Children and Adolescents study (DAMTCA II)” was conducted in Kayseri, between October 2007 and April 2008. Weight and height measurements from 4321 (1926 boys, 2395 girls) school children aged between 6 to 17 years were included in this cross-sectional study. Using these data, weight and height percentile curves were produced with generalized additive models for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS) and compared with the most recent references. RESULTS: Smoothed percentile curves including the 3(rd), 5(th), 10(th), 15(th), 25(th), 50(th), 75(th), 85(th), 90(th), 95(th), and 97(th) percentiles were obtained for boys and girls. These results were compared with DAMTCA I study and with two national (İstanbul and Ankara) and international data from Asia and from Europe. CONCLUSION: This study provides updated weight and height references for Turkish school children aged between 6 and 17 years residing in Kayseri.