Increased Heights and Weights of Isfahani Female Children and Adolescents in Iran

Considering the different patterns of growth in various societies, an anthropometric evaluation of 6-18-year-old female students was carried out in 1997 in Isfahan, Iran with the goal of establishing height and weight values for use in clinical settings. 4638 female Isfahani students aged 6-18 years were selected by a random cluster sampling. Their height (cm) and weight (kg) were measured and the related percentiles were determined. The results were compared with previous studies in Iran using Student's t-test. Findings show an increase of 6-12 cm in height and of 1-4 kg in weight of Isfahani female 6-18-year-old students as compared with a similar study in 1975. The height curves can be approximately superposed on those of NCHS growth charts, but American girls are significantly heavier than Isfahani girls after the age of 14. The growth parameters among Isfahani female students have improved compared with those of their compatriots and also their fellow citizens 22 years earlier. Improvements in nutrition, health services or other unknown environmental factors may have contributed to an increase in the growth indexes.