Body mass index reference curves for children aged 3-19 years from Verona, Italy.
OBJECTIVE
To compile curves for Body Mass Index (BMI) for Italian children and adolescents.


METHODS
Cross sectional study.


METHODS
All primary and secondary schools of Verona, Italy between October 1986 and January 1987.


METHODS
20,796 males and 21,073 females children, aged 3-19 y.


METHODS
Weight and height were measured using Salus balances, and age in days was calculated between the date of measurement and that of birth: centiles of BMI by age were calculated by the LMS method of Cole (1990).


RESULTS
The centiles obtained were similar to those obtained in UK by Cole et al, 1995. Compared to Cachera's data for France and Hammer's for USA, our BMI values are higher, though closer to the American than the French ones.
Luciano
A
A
Chair of Paediatrics, University of Verona, Italia.
Bressan
F
F
Zoppi
G
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D012727:Sex Characteristics