A dataset about anthropometric measurements of the Pakistani children and adolescents using a cross-sectional multi-ethnic anthropometric survey

Evaluation of nutritional status is necessary during childhood and the juvenile years when the level of hydration and the adipose tissues experience significant changes. Anthropometric measurements and their derived indices are valid proxies to predict body fat, obesity (general or central) and their associated cardiovascular risks. The dataset under consideration also provides the socio-demographic related information and anthropometric measurement values related to height, weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HpC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHpR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), neck circumference (NC), and wrist circumference (WrC). Standard procedure was adopted for quantifying the body measurements. The data were consisting of 10,782 children and adolescents aged 2–19 years, belonging four major cities of Pakistan viz. Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. This dataset is beneficial to develop anthropometric growth charts which will provide the essential knowledge of growth and nutritional disorders (e.g., stunted, overweight and obesity) of Pakistani children and adolescents. The dataset can also be used by researchers to calculate body surface area (BSA), body frame size (BFS), body shape index (BSI), and tri-ponderal mass index (TMI) of children and adolescents that are also some other reliable indicators of obesity and insulin resistance as well as cardiometabolic risk in children and adults.