title: Implications of using World Health Organization growth reference (2007) for identifying growth problems in Hong Kong children aged 6 to 18 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the implications of replacing Hong Kong's 1993 growth references (HK1993) with the World Health Organization's 2007 references (WHO2007) for children aged 6 to 18 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-six randomly selected primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 14 842 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years in Hong Kong during 2005/06.
  
  
  METHODS
  Creation of age-specific z-scores for height, weight, and body mass index relative to HK1993 and WHO2007 references.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Use of WHO2007 instead of HK1993 could classify an additional 1.4% children aged 6 to 10 years and 2.8% children aged 11 to 18 years as having a short stature. Using WHO2007, respective proportions that could be classified as underweight and obese increased by 3.5% and 2.1% among children aged 6 to 10 years, and 5.5% and 1.6% among children aged 11 to 18 years.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Use of WHO2007 could increase clinical workload and patient and parent anxiety by 'over-diagnosing' short stature and underweight. Although WHO2007 may have a role in international comparative research, retention of HK1993 would seem appropriate from a clinical perspective.
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 6/F Clinical Science Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: So
authors.forename: E A S
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: R Y T
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Ng
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D057238:Growth Charts; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014944:World Health Organization