title: Height, weight and body mass index percentiles of children aged 6-14 years living at moderate altitudes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Individuals living at high altitudes are reported to have lower stature and also a smaller chest size in relation to their stature. Altitude-related hypobaric hypoxia is considered to be the major cause of these alterations in growth, but adverse socioeconomic and/or other environmental conditions may also have a role in poor growth performance. This study was undertaken to provide growth data on children and adolescents living in a moderate-altitude area in Turkey.
  
  
  METHODS
  The dataset of an anthropometric study conducted among a population living in a city at an altitude of 2000 meters was analyzed. A total of 1638 children and adolescents (871 males and 767 females) aged between 6 and 14 years were included in this study. The LMS method was used in the analysis and percentile values corresponding to the 3rd, 5th, 10th, 15th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 85th, 90th, 95th and 97th percentiles for height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were estimated. The results were compared with the measurements of children and adolescents living in areas of lower altitude in Turkey.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Starting at ages 0-10 years, height, weight and BMI values of children and adolescents of both genders living at an altitude of 2000 meters were noticeably lower than those reported for their counterparts living in areas of lower altitude in Turkey.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The higher values for height, weight and BMI in children living in low-altitude areas can be attributed to altitude effect, but socioeconomic and microclimate effects cannot be discarded and further studies are needed.
authors.affiliation: Ataturk University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Erzurum, Turkey. ozkan.behzat@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ismail
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Malkoç
authors.forename: Mümtaz M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Mazıcıoğlu
authors.forename: Behzat
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Özkan
authors.forename: Meda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kondolot
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurtoğlu
authors.forename: Hakkı
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yeşilyurt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000531:Altitude; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014421:Turkey