Anthropometric indices of failure to thrive.

AIMS To compare five anthropometric methods of classifying failure to thrive in order to ascertain their relative merits in predicting developmental, dietary, and eating problems. METHODS The five anthropometric methods were compared in 83 children with failure to thrive. RESULTS The methods were inconsistent in classification of severity, and no one method was superior in predicting problems. CONCLUSIONS Weight alone, being the simplest, is still the most reasonable marker for failure to thrive and associated problems.