Cross sectional stature and weight reference curves for the UK, 1990.

TLDR

The 1966 UK reference curves for stature and weight have been in use despite concerns that they no longer reflect the growth patterns of contemporary British children. The study proposes adopting the newly derived 1990 reference curves as the updated standard for UK children. Using nationally representative data from seven sources, the authors estimated new stature and weight curves from birth to 20 years with the Cole LMS method, producing efficient centile estimates that fit the data well. The new curves differ from the 1966 curves at key ages for both stature and weight.

Abstract

The current reference curves of stature and weight for the UK were first published in 1966 and have been used ever since despite increasing concern that they may not adequately describe the growth of present day British children. Using current data from seven sources new reference curves have been estimated from birth to 20 years for children in 1990. The great majority of the data are nationally representative. The analysis used Cole9s LMS method and has produced efficient estimates of the conventional centiles and gives a good fit to the data. These curves differ from the currently used curves at key ages for both stature and weight. In view of the concerns expressed about the current curves and the differences between them and the new curves, it is proposed that the curves presented here should be adopted as the new UK reference curves.