Weight for Length/Height Percentiles in Infants and Young Children in Kayseri/Turkey

OBJECTIVE To produce weight for length/height (WLH) percentiles to be used for the screening of growth and assessment of failure to thrive in infancy and early childhood. METHODS The data (2009-2010) of the Anthropometry of Turkish Children aged 0-6 years (ATCA-06) study were used. A cross-sectional study was designed to calculate the WLH references. Reference weight values for each 5-cm LH intervals were determined using the LMS Chart Maker Pro version 2.3 software program (The Institute of Child Health, London). RESULTS A total of 3123 children (1573 female, 1550 male) aged 0-6 years were included in the calculation of the 3rd, 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th, 90th, 95th, and 97th WLH percentiles. The difference between the 3rd and the 97th percentiles for males was 2.02 cm to 12.64 cm in the 50-54.99 cm and 125-130 cm LH ranges. In the girls, the differences between the 3rd-97th percentiles ranged from 2.02 cm to 12.64 cm in the 50-54.99 cm and 125-130 cm LH groups. The maximum difference between the 3rd and 97th percentiles was about half the variation of mean WLH throughout the first six years of life. The most rapid change in WLH was observed in the 0-2-year period. Turkish references for WLH were not different from the World Health Organization standards. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study in Turkey presenting WLH references in 0-6 year old children. We suggest that the use of WLH in the first two years of life may be more useful than age-adjusted references in assessment of nutritional status and diagnosis of failure to thrive.