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Height, height and body mass index of 6-15-year-old school girls in Babol, northern iran between 1995 to 2002: A comparison with the the US 2000 centers for disease control and prevention references
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F Shidfar *   , M Montazer , M Amooian , H Azizi |
| , farzadshidfar@yhoo.com |
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Abstract: (15333 Views) |
| Background and objectives: Since there are no national references for height, weight and body mass index (BMI) or Iranian children, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2000 standards are widely used in Iran. An assessment of the suitability of these standards was thought essential. The aim of this study was to compare the growth indices of 6-15-year-old school girls in Babol, Northern Iran, with the CDC 2000 standards.
Methods and materials: Six hundred and nine healthy 6-15-year-old Babol schoolgirls, selected by the convenience sampling method, were studied retrospectively between 1995 and 2002. The reference percentiles for height, weight and body mass index were calculated using the LMS method (the LMS Light 1.28 software). After converting the growth data into standard deviation scores (SDS) based on the CDC2000 reference, the mean SDS within and through the age groups was compared with zero using the one sample T-test and SPSS 10.0.1. Statistically significant differences would mean significant differences between the growth indices of the population studied and the CDC2000 reference standards.
Results: The mean SDS for height, weight and BMI were –0.2 (SD = 1.00), -0.3 (SD =1.12) and –0.3 (SD =1.09), respectively, all significantly different from zero (p=0.000). These scores reflect the magnitudes of differences from the CDC2000 references. These differences decreased as age increased and were more prominent in the 6- to 11-year old girls. In these girls height, weight and BMI SDS were - 0.24 (SD =1.01), -0.48 (SD =1.10) and -0.46 (SD =1.15), respectively (p =0.000). Growth charts were drawn.
Conclusion: The height, weight and BMI values for the population studied were all lower than the corresponding CDC2000 standards. Therefore, the CDC standards are not suitable for use for Babol girls. Considering the nonprobability sampling method used in this study, any generalization should be made with caution. This study supports the idea of developing appropriate local standards for practical use. |
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| Keywords: height, weight, body mass index, girls, Babol |
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Full-Text [PDF 280 kb]
(4765 Downloads)
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Article type: Research |
Subject:
Food Science
Received: 2008/07/1 | Published: 2007/12/15
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