Study: Kids Worldwide Can Grow the Same (AP)

By ERICA BULMAN, Associated Press Writer

GENEVA - Children born anywhere in the world who are given an optimum start in life can all develop to within the same range of height and weight, the U.N. health agency announced Thursday.

A seven-year study across populations from every continent showed that children from India who were breast fed, vaccinated, given proper health care and whose mothers avoided tobacco had comparable growth patterns to those from richer countries like Norway, the World Health Organization said.

"The study shows that nutrition, feeding practices, environment, and health care are stronger factors in the growth of children to age five than genetics or ethnic background," said Catherine le Gales-Camus, WHO assistant director general for non-communicable diseases.

A poor start to life can lead to lifelong consequences such as chronic illness like heart disease, mental deficiencies, cancer and diabetes, WHO said.

Existing references simply describe how children grow in a particular region and time, not what the best growth patterns are.

WHO's findings are the result of a study started in 1997 to develop a new international standard for assessing the physical growth, nutritional status and motor development in all children from birth to age five. The study was conducted on more than 8,000 children from Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and the United States.

The standards show how children should grow and can be used to detect under-nutrition or obesity at an early age. They cover a range of targets, such as the optimum weight-for-age, length and height-for-age as well as Body Mass Index. They also include standard motor development milestones such as sitting, standing and walking.

The International Pediatric Association is encouraging its members throughout the world to adopt and use these standards.

Because current references in North America are based on heavier children, a switch to the new standards of optimum growth would likely increase the number of children considered obese in the United States.

"The WHO Child Growth Standards provide new means to support every child to get the best chance to develop in the most important formative years," said Lee Jong-wook, director-general of the World Health Organization. "In this regard, this tool will serve to reduce death and disease in infants and young children."

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On the Net:

http://www.who.int/childgrowth