Comparative analysis of physique between Chinese and Japanese children and adolescents / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To compare physique development of Chinese and Japanese children and adolescents aged from 7 to 18 years and to provide a scientific basis growth and development improvement among Chinese children and adolescents.@*Methods@#In 2016, height and weight of 9 594 children and adolescents aged 7-18 years from China and Japan were collected. A total of 4 800 subjects were randomly selected. Independent sample t test was used to examine differences in height and weight between children and adolescents in the two countries. The LMS method was used to construct percentile curves of the Chinese, Japanese and WHO reference standards.@*Results@#The average height of Chinese children and adolescents was 156.7 cm for boys and 151.3 cm for girls, and that of Japan was 150.8 cm and 146.3 cm respectively. Average height of all ages in China was higher than that of Japan (P<0.05); The average body weight of China was 49.5 kg for boys and 43.8 kg for girls, and for Japan was 43.4 kg and 40.8 kg respectively. Weight in most of the age groups was higher than that of Japan (P<0.05). The detection rates of overweight and obesity and wasting in Chinese boys were higher than those in Japan, while was close to or lower than that of Japan for girls, especially among those who older than 14 years; the third and 50 th percentile (P3 and P50) of height of Chinese children and adolescents was higher than those of Japan; The P50 of body mass index (BMI) in Chinese boys was higher than that of Japan, while the P3 of BMI was lower than that of Japan and WHO standards, and the P3 and P50 of BMI in Chinese girls gradually decreased after 14 years of age, which was lower than that of Japan and WHO standards.@*Conclusion@#For height and weight, Chinese children and adolescents are higher than that of Japan, who also have higher risk of being overweight and obesity than that of Japan. For adolescents over 14 years old, overweight and obesity among Chinese girls is lower than that in Japan, but the proportion of wasting is higher than that of Japan.