Determination of growth pattern of 7-12 years old children in YAZD city and comparison of it with WHO standards

Objective: To assess the growth pattern of children in Yazd, and compare it with standards outlined by the World Health Organisation. Methods: The cross-sectional study, which was conducted in 2009, involved 20 guidance schools of Yazd city. A total of 1921 children were chosen by simple cluster method and general demographic and anthropometric information regarding the subjects was extracted from students' health identification booklets. Data was analysed through SPSS. Results: The mean values of height in 7th and 12th years of age were 119 +/- 8.8cm and 150 +/- 6.6cm in boys and 117 +/- 5.97cm and 152 +/- 7.3cm in girls respectively. The mean values of weight in 7th and 12th years of age were 20 +/- 3.39kg and 39 +/- 1 kg in boys and 20 +/- 3.78kg and 41 +/- 1.07kg in girls respectively. These values generally were below the values set by the World Health Organisation till the 9th year of age, and above them beyond the 9th year. Conclusion: The growth pattern among children in Yazd is better than some of the other provinces in Iran. Larger studies are needed for generating Iran-specific standard for better assessment of the growth and nutritional status of Iranian children.