WHO Growth Charts recommended for monitoring growth of Canadian children

Feb 8 2010

Four leading national health professional associations have collectively recommended the adoption of the World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Charts for monitoring the growth of Canadian children in all primary health care and clinical settings. The Collaborative Statement - Promoting Optimal Monitoring of Child Growth in Canada - Using the New World Health Organization (WHO) Growth Charts - is supported by Dietitians of Canada (DC), Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and Community Health Nurses of Canada (CHNC). The statement is an update to an earlier version released in 2004 that supported the use of growth charts developed by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

Advantages of the WHO charts include:

- The WHO Growth Standards for children 0-5 years of age are based on a population of infants and children nurtured under optimal health conditions, including breastfeeding for at least four to six months. These charts show how children should grow rather than how they do grow. - The WHO charts address the growth of a multi-ethnic international population and are therefore reflective of our Canadian ethnic makeup. - The WHO Growth Reference 2007 recommended for older children (5 to 19 years) are a better tool for identifying children at risk for obesity.

Says Dr. Donna Secker, author of the Collaborative Statement and Clinical Dietitian at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, "The way a child grows says a lot about his or her health. Growing too quickly or too slowly can be a sign of possible problems with health or nutrition. The use of standardized methods and tools by health care providers to monitor growth is one way to help identify problems early so that appropriate action can be taken to prevent serious problems with growth and development."

For a copy of the complete collaborative statement and executive summary Promoting Optimal Monitoring of Child Growth in Canada: Using the New World Heath Organization (WHO) Growth Charts and health professional and parent education tools visit www.dietitians.ca/growthcharts.

Source: CANADIAN PAEDIATRIC SOCIETY