Physical growth of Negro children in the Durban area

Abstract

Physical growth measurements from birth to 145 months in 5,743 urban Negro children in the Durban area have shown that the median weight of the youngest members is similar to or heavier than an international reference standard (Harvard), whereas older children are generally lighter. Length measurements up to 24 months are similar to the standard whereas older children are shorter. Head circumference is greater than international values at all ages measured. The prevalence of malnutrition, assessed by values less than the third Harvard centile for age, reached a peak incidence for height in the pre-school children and for weight in the older male school children. Decreases in height and weight in the Negro child probably reflect the damaging effects of an impoverished socio-economic environment on growth. The development of the young Negro child along reference centiles implies that such standards established in the 'developed world' are appropriate for assessment of adequate growth in South African Negro children of all ages.