title: Growth References of Preschool Children Based on the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study and Compared to World Health Organization Growth Standards.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To develop new growth references for height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) for children aged 0-5 years in the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS) and to compare these references with both 1997 Taiwan references and World Health Organization (WHO) standards.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were obtained from the TBCS of a nationally representative sample of 24,200 children. A total of 18,466 children completed the baseline survey at 6 months of age and three follow-up surveys at 18 months, 3 years, and 5.5 years of age. The modified LMS method was used to construct percentile curves by sex, including length/height for age, weight for age, and BMI for age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TBCS children of both sexes were shorter and lighter at birth compared with 1997 Taiwan references and WHO standards. The growth patterns of TBCS children were close to those of the 1997 Taiwan references after 6 months of age. Compared with WHO standards, however, TBCS children were heavier after 6 months of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study has developed TBCS references to monitor the growth of children in Taiwan, whose weight growth patterns differed from those "prescribed" by WHO standards.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Fan
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chi-Mei Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shio-Jean
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Care Management, College of Healthcare and Management, National Taipei University of Nursing Health Sciences, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuan-Chia
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: tlchiang@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Tung-Liang
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Chiang
mesh_terms: D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D013624:Taiwan; D014944:World Health Organization
keywords: Taiwan Birth Cohort Study; WHO child growth standards; child growth references; growth