title: Reference growth curves for cypriot children 6 to 17 years of age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to present smoothed percentiles for body weight and height, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) in Cypriot children and to compare their BMI 85th and 95th percentiles with those of children in other countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was a cross-sectional study, including a representative sample of 2472 healthy children (49.1% boys) in Cyprus ages 6 to 17 years, who were evaluated during the 1999-2000 school year. Body weight and height and waist circumference were measured using standard procedures. BMI was calculated as weight in kilograms per height in square meters. Smoothed, sex-specific percentiles for these variables were calculated using polynomial regression models. Crude weight, height, waist, and BMI percentile values are presented in sex-specific tables and smoothed percentile curves are presented in charts. The 85th and 95th percentiles for BMI were compared with measurements from other countries, because of the concern of the upper limits of BMI in respect to the evaluation of obesity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 85th and 95th BMI percentile values are higher in Cypriot boys than in Swedish and Iranian boys through all ages and in girls ages 6 to 15 years, whereas after the age of 15 years, both Swedish and Iranian girls' percentiles are equalized with their Cypriot peers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Weight, height, waist circumference, and BMI values and charts are presented for the first time for Cypriot children and adolescents. Much concern should be addressed to the observation that for the majority of the Cypriot sample, the upper BMI limits are higher than the peers of developing and developed countries.
authors.affiliation: Research and Education Foundation of Child Health, Nicosia, Cyprus, Greece. s.savvas@avacom.net
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Savva
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kourides
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tornaritis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Epiphaniou-Savva
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tafouna
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kafatos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001824:Body Constitution; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003535:Cyprus; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran; D012016:Reference Values; D012574:Schools; D013548:Sweden