Slide 4 of 39
Notes:
The importance of growth charts is well established. They represent a fundamental screening tool for assessing nutritional status in the pediatric population.
The new CDC growth charts were released in May 2000 at the National Nutrition Summit. The development of the growth charts was a collaborative effort between the Division of Health Examination Statistics and the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity (DNPA) at CDC.
The new charts are based on a different reference population but they appear similar to the charts that have been in use. The 1977 charts consisted of 14 charts based on age, gender, weight-for-age, length-for-age, height-for-age, weight-for-length, and weight-for-height. The new charts have 16 charts including Body Mass Index (BMI)-for-age for boys and girls aged 2 to 20 years. The addition of BMI-for-age charts are a major change in the revised charts .
