Weight and Height in Tehran Nurseries

Summary In order to examine the Summary .growth status or children in Tehran nurseries in comparison to the international standards, height and Weight in 526 boys and 557 girls 3 to 7 year old in 7 nurseries located in the well­to-do areas of the capital were surveyed and compared to the National Center for Health Statistics figures. 54.5% or the children were between -1 SD to + 1 SD weight for height and height for age. Only 3.5 % of the subjects fell between -1 SD to -3 SD weight for height and height for age. Close to 450/"' of the children were above the 50% Percentile weight for age and height for age while weight for height was equally distributed on both sides of the median. The height and weight of these children compared to a representative Tehrani Sample were superior in all age brackets. The results demonstrate that the population studied, although is somewhat shorter and leaner than the NCHS standard, but no difference is observed with the weight for height indicator. It can be stated that the use of NCHS standards is suitable for field surveys and health care services and thus, there is no urgent need for the preparation of a national standard.