Rc. Hauspie et al., REFERENCE VALUES FOR INCREASE IN HEIGHT A ND WEIGHT, AND GROWTHS RATEFOR BELGIAN BOYS AND GIRLS AGED 3-18 YEARS, Archives francaises de pediatrie, 50(9), 1993, pp. 763-769
Background. Belgian growth standards have until now been based on cros
s-sectional studies. This paper describes the first Belgian longitudin
al growth standards for height and height velocity and recent cross-se
ctional standards of weight-for-age. Population and methods. The study
was conducted between 1955 and 1975, initially on 259 Belgian boys an
d girls born in Brussels between 1955 and 1958. Only 48 boys and 50 gi
rls were still being checked for height and weight at the end of the s
tudy. The distance charts show the classical centile lines; the height
standards are provided with growth curves for the typical early avera
ge and late-maturing child in the population. The velocity charts show
centiles for whole-year increments in height. Individual-type velocit
y curves are also provided. Results. Comparison between these standard
s and those for British children shows that the Belgian children (esse
ntially the girls) are taller than the British, probably due to more r
apid maturation.