Objective: The purpose of the present study is to describe some normal
and standard anthropometric values of schoolgirls (aged 6-16 years) l
iving in the Jeddah area. These norms and standards will be used as a
comparison for other populations. They will provide baseline data for
establishing national norms in Saudi Arabia. Design: A cross-sectional
study was performed for anthropometric measurements including height,
body weight, head circumference and skin-fold thickness on 5,153 scho
olgirls selected from six schools using stratified sampling techniques
. Results and conclusion: For the studied girls, height and weight pla
teaued at the age of 13 years. More than 90 percent of the studied sam
ple had reached their menarche at the age of 14 years. At the age of 7
years, 95 percent of the head circumference is achieved.