Height Velocity in Apparently Healthy North Indian School Children

OBJECTIVE: Linear growth is best estimated by serial anthropometric data or height velocity (HV). In the absence of recent data on growth velocity, we undertook to establish normative data in apparently healthy North Indian children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective longitudinal study in a representative sample of 7710 apparently healthy children, aged 3–17 years from different regions of Delhi. Height was measured at baseline and at 12 months while pubertal examination was performed at baseline in a subset of children. RESULTS: The data on HV and puberty were available in 5635 participants (73.08%; 2341 boys and 3294 girls) and 1553 participants (622 boys; and 931 girls), respectively. The mean peak height velocity (PHV) was 7.82 ± 2.60 cm in boys seen at 12–12.9 years and 6.63 ± 1.81 cm in girls at 10–10.9 years Although late maturing boys had a greater HV than early or normal maturers, it did not vary with the age of pubertal maturation in girls. HV correlated with parental height in prepubertal boys, girls, and pubertal boys (P < 0.01) while no correlation was seen in girls. CONCLUSIONS: The study presents normal height velocities in North Indian children. A secular trend was observed in achieving PHV in both boys and girls.