title: Should the WHO growth charts be used in France?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Growth charts are an essential clinical tool for evaluating a child's health and development. The current French reference curves, published in 1979, have recently been challenged by the 2006 World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate and compare the growth of French children who were born between 1981 and 2007, with the WHO growth charts and the French reference curves currently used.
  
  
  METHODS
  Anthropometric measurements from French children, who participated in 12 studies, were analyzed: 82,151 measurements were available for 27,257 children in different age groups, from birth to 18 years. We calculated and graphically compared mean z-scores based on the WHO and French curves, for height, weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) according to age and sex. The prevalence of overweight using the WHO, the French and International Obesity Task Force definitions were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our population of children was on average 0.5 standard deviations taller than the French reference population, from the first month of life until puberty age. Mean z-scores for height, weight and BMI were closer to zero based on the WHO growth charts than on the French references from infancy until late adolescence, except during the first six months. These differences not related to breastfeeding rates. As expected, the prevalence of overweight depended on the reference used, and differences varied according to age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The WHO growth charts may be appropriate for monitoring growth of French children, as the growth patterns in our large population of French children were closer to the WHO growth charts than to the French reference curves, from 6 months onwards. However, there were some limitations in the use of these WHO growth charts, and further investigation is needed.
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Early determinants of the child's health and development Team (ORCHAD), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scherdel
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Early determinants of the child's health and development Team (ORCHAD), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France; Univ. Paris-Sud, Laboratoire de biomathématique, Faculté de Pharmacie, Châtenay-Malabry, France.
authors.forename: Jérémie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Botton
authors.affiliation: Université Paris 13, INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France, Inra, Cnam, Université Paris 5, Université Paris 7, Bobigny, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Françoise
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Rolland-Cachera
authors.affiliation: Univ. Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, AP-HP, Hôpital Robert Debré, Service d'Endocrinologie Diabétologie Pédiatrique et Centre de Référence des Maladies Endocriniennes Rares de la Croissance, Paris, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, UMR 676, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Juliane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Léger
authors.affiliation: Inserm UMR 1085 IRSET, Rennes, France; Université de Rennes 1, Faculté de Médecine, Rennes, France, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Rennes (CHU), Service d'Epidémiologie et de Santé Publique, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pelé
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team (EPOPé), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France.
authors.forename: Pierre Yves
authors.initials: PY
authors.lastname: Ancel
authors.affiliation: Carmen, Inserm U1060, University of Lyon 1, INRA U1235, CRNH Rhône-Alpes, CENS, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS), Département maladies chroniques et traumatismes, Unité de surveillance et d'épidémiologie nutritionnelle (USEN), F-94415 Saint-Maurice, France, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologies et Biostatistiques, Bobigny, France.
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Castetbon
authors.affiliation: Institut de veille sanitaire (InVS), Département maladies chroniques et traumatismes, Unité de surveillance et d'épidémiologie nutritionnelle (USEN), F-94415 Saint-Maurice, France, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Centre de Recherche en Epidémiologies et Biostatistiques, Bobigny, France.
authors.forename: Benoit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Salanave
authors.affiliation: Univ. Bordeaux, ISPED, Centre Inserm U897-Epidemiologie-Biostatistique, Bordeaux, France, Inserm, ISPED, Centre Inserm U897-Epidemiologie-Biostatistique, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thibault
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Early determinants of the child's health and development Team (ORCHAD), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France; French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES, ex-AFSSA, Dietary Survey Unit, Maisons-Alfort, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lioret
authors.affiliation: Université Paris 13, INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Nutritional Epidemiology Research Team (EREN), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France, Inra, Cnam, Université Paris 5, Université Paris 7, Bobigny, France.
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Péneau
authors.affiliation: IRSA, département Synergies, 37521 La Riche cedex, France.
authors.forename: Gaelle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gusto
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Early determinants of the child's health and development Team (ORCHAD), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France.
authors.forename: Marie-Aline
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.affiliation: INSERM, UMR1153 Epidemiology and Biostatistics Sorbonne Paris Cité Center (CRESS), Early determinants of the child's health and development Team (ORCHAD), Paris, France, Paris Descartes University, France.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Heude
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures / Q000592:standards*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D057238:Growth Charts; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014944:World Health Organization