The second national growth and development survey of children in China, 1985: children 0 to 7 years

Abstract

To evaluate the normal physical growth and development of Chinese children and to compare the nutritional status of today with that of ten years ago, a second national cross-sectional growth survey was undertaken in the same urban and suburban rural areas of nine main cities in China in 1985 as in 1975. In this survey 152,874 boys and girls from birth to age 7.0 years were measured for weight, height, sitting height, and chest, head and upper arm circumferences. Compared with the results in 1975, the condition of growth and development of children for both boys and girls from urban or suburban rural areas has been relatively much improved. Average weight and height had increased in the past 10 years by 0.40 kg and 1.8 cm respectively, in 6-7-year-old children. The greater part of the increase in height has been due to increase in leg length. The urban-rural difference in stature has become smaller, as the increase has been greater in rural areas. The data from this survey can be used as a new growth standard for Chinese children.