Impact of Using Different Growth References on Interpretation of Anthropometric Parameters of Children Aged 8-15 Years

ABSTRACT

Objective: To compare the effect of the application of threegrowth references (Agarwal, 1992; Indian Academy ofPaediatrics (IAP), 2015; and World Health Organisation (WHO),2007) on interpretation of anthropometric parameters inschoolchildren.Setting: Cross-sectional school-based study.Participants: Children 8-15 years studying in one governmentschool and one private school of Delhi.Procedure The age- and gender-specific standard deviationscores of height-for-age and BMI-for-age were estimated foreach student enrolled, using the three growth referencesindependently.Main outcome measure: The proportion of children withshort stature, thinness and overweight/ obesity determined byeach growth reference were compared.Results: A total of 1237 students participated in the study. Asignificantly higher proportion of children (both sexes) wereclassified to have short stature using WHO 2007 reference(8.8%) as compared to the Agarwal (3.3%) charts and IAP, 2015references (3.6%). The combined prevalence of overweight andobesity was highest (34.8%) by the IAP, 2015 reference asagainst 32% by Agarwal charts and 29.1% by WHO, 2007reference. Good agreement existed between the IAP, 2015reference and Agarwal charts in classifying subjects intodifferent BMI categories (Kappa=0.82) and short stature(Kappa=0.99).Conclusions: In view of differences noted, use of nationalpopulation derived reference data is suggested to correctlydefine growth trajectories in children.