BODY-MASS INDEX REFERENCE CURVES FOR CHILDREN AGED 3-19 YEARS FROM VERONA, ITALY

Objective: To compile curves for Body Mass Index (BMI) for Italian chi ldren and adolescents. Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: All pri mary and secondary schools of Verona, Italy between October 1986 and J anuary 1987. Subjects: 20 796 males and 21 073 females children, aged 3-19 y. Methods: Weight and height were measured using Salus balances, and age in days was calculated between the date of measurement and th at of birth: centiles of BMI by age were calculated by the LMS method of Cole (1990). Results: The centiles obtained were similar to those o btained in UK by Cole et al, 1995. Compared to Cachera's data for Fran ce and Hammer's for USA, our BMI values are higher, though closer to t he American than the French ones.