Presents the President’s message for this issue of publication.

INTRODUCTION The WHO standards have been used as a gold standard for growth assessment in preterm infants since 1986. The introduction of the WHO standards in Argentina could improve detection of sub-optimal growth. OBJECTIVE To compare the proportion of growth retardation in terms of weight, body height and head circumference in preterm infants with a birth weight less than 1500 g (VLBW) ass...

OBJECTIVES To compare the difference between the China growth reference and the WHO growth standards in assessing malnutrition of children under 5 years. SETTINGS The households selected from 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in mainland China (except Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao). PARTICIPANTS Households were selected by using a stratified, multistage probability cluster s...

BACKGROUND New national growth references have been published in Belgium and Norway. The WHO recommends universal use of their 2006 Child Growth Standards based on data from breastfed children. OBJECTIVE To compare the growth of Belgian and Norwegian children with the WHO standards. PARTICIPANTS 6985 children 0-5 years of age from Belgium and Norway. DESIGN Proportion of children below -2...

OBJECTIVE To compare infant growth and adiposity pattern up to 2 years of age in Spanish infants, depending on maternal origin and anthropometric standards. METHODS Longitudinal study of a representative cohort of infants born at term in Aragon (Spain) (n = 1.430). Mean z-scores of weight, length, body mass index, triceps and subscapular skinfolds were calculated until 24 months of age using ...

The evaluation of child growth trajectories and the interventions designed to improve child health are highly dependent on the growth charts used. The U.S. CDC and the WHO, in May 2000 and April 2006, respectively, released new growth charts to replace the 1977 NCHS reference. The WHO charts are based for the first time on a prescriptive, prospective, international sample of infants selected to...

Supporting breastfeeding for as long as possible, firstly as exclusive for the first 6 months, and then adequately complemented with solids (up to 24 months and beyond if the mother and the infant like it) in agreement with WHO indications (1) Preventing overweight and obesity development from the earlier stages to receive a more effective preventive success to counteract the obesity pandemic n...

After the WHO Growth Standards (WHOGS) was published in 2006, many countries in the world endorsed and adopted the new growth references as a standard measure for the growth of infants and young children. Certainly, the WHOGS has an impact on the global policy about obesity and underweight in children. Such WHOGS innovation has influenced many regional health authorities and academies, which ha...

AIM To examine relationships among physical growth indicators and ages of achievement of six gross motor milestones in the WHO Child Growth Standards population. METHODS Gross motor development assessments were performed longitudinally on the 816 children included in the WHO Child Growth Standards. Six milestones (sitting without support, hands-and-knees crawling, standing with assistance, wa...

Introduction Since production of WHO Multicenter Growth Reference Study (MGRS) growth standards in 2006, many countries have adopted the WHO charts for under five children [1]. In UK, WHO growth charts are used until 4 years [2] and in US only up to 2 years of age. Over-diagnosis of stunting and underweight in Asian children is likely with the use of these standards as Asian children are still ...