Body growth in Brazilian children and adolescents

OBJECTIVES: to present the profile of body development in Brazilian children and adolescents aged between 7 and 17 years old; to propose a growth norms evaluation for 7 to 17 year-old Brazilian children and adolescents; and to compare the Brazilian 7 to 17 year-old population's stature and body mass profile with the international benchmark. METHODS: the sample comprised 55,679 schoolchildren from 72 Brazilian cities. Height and weight measurements were taken into consideration. For the purpose of analysis, percentile scales (the 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles) for growth of Brazilian children and adolescents and for the international growth standard (National Center for Health Statistics - Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000) were considered. RESULTS: the boys' height tends to decelerate growth by 16 years of age, displaying values higher than the international standard up to this age. In girls, growth tends to decelerate by 13 years old, as in US girls. The weight showed variability in the profile of development across the different percentile curves and in relation to the international standard for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS: the results strengthen the argument that there is a need to consider adopting national norms for evaluation of body growth in Brazilian children and adolescents.