Centile tables for boys and girls. Height and weight, head circumference, chest circumference

Judging by the traffic to various pages of our resource, parents are most concerned about the weight and height of their children. In this publication we will try to immediately answer all already asked and future questions on this topic. We bring to your attention centile tables for assessing the physical development of a child. With their help, you can determine for yourself how close your baby’s anthropometric data are to normal, and consult a doctor if these indicators approach extreme limits.

What are centiles and centile tables in pediatrics?

The centile is a certain number that reflects the child’s development parameters, for example, height, head circumference or body length. Such indicators are determined by studying a group of subjects and identifying patterns of development characteristic of the majority, and then combined into groups, forming centile tables.

Divisions into groups in centile tables are carried out as follows:

• For the study, a group of children is randomly selected and their height is measured, for example.
• The most common growth indicators are determined as the arithmetic average and placed in the middle of the table under the value “50%”.
• Downward deviations are placed in the table on the left, where the leftmost column will be the lowest growth.
• Deviations in the larger direction are placed in the table on the right, where the rightmost column will be the largest increase.

In these tables, the most uncommon are the extreme columns, the value of which does not exceed 6 to 11% of the total number of those studied.

What are centile tables?

They represent a kind of mathematical photograph of the distribution of a large number of children according to increasing indicators of height, weight, chest and head circumference. The practical use of these tables is simple and convenient, combined with a good logical understanding of the assessment results.

You can understand what a centile scale is, for example, height, using the following example. Imagine 100 children of the same age and gender, lined up in height from smallest to tallest. The height of the first three children is assessed as very low, from the 3rd to the 10th - as low, 10-25th - as below average, 25-75th - as average height. The height of 75-90 is rated as above average, 90-97 as tall and the last three guys as very tall.

The meaning of centiles and compliance with norms

Centile tables for boys and girls contain data on developmental norms and help identify violations.

The decoding of centiles and their correspondence to normality is reflected in the table:

Centenary tables for boys and girls will help you independently identify deficiencies in a child’s development. However, then specialist consultation will be required, because without it it is not worth taking measures if disproportionate development has been identified.

The child’s indicators do not fall within the normal range

Very low and highest rates sometimes occur in healthy children. They may be related to birth weight, mom and dad parameters, or metabolism.

Diagnoses are never made using centile tables. Failure to meet the norm for any of the indicators does not mean anything. To assess the physical size of a child, you need to determine the corridor into which his data falls. If they remain within the boundaries of the same corridor or differ by one or two, it means that the child is developing proportionally. When the difference in indicators is more than two corridors, this indicates an inharmonious formation. If the pediatrician identifies this difference, there is no need to be alarmed; in such cases, the baby may be referred for additional examination or consultation to find out the cause. It is quite possible that the baby is healthy, he just has such characteristics or hereditary characteristics.

Breastfed babies often develop unevenly. One month you may be underweight, but the next month it’s the opposite. Parents need to record their child’s performance and compare them so as not to worry again. Children under the age of one year should be shown to the pediatrician monthly in order to monitor the child’s health and understand whether he is growing correctly .

Different tables are compiled for boys and girls, since boys usually grow, gain weight and develop faster. For children, height is of primary importance. Everything else is considered in conjunction with it, that is, with an increase in body length, other indicators (weight, head and chest circumference) increase.

Norms of weight and height in children

The development of children at different ages proceeds differently, so there are different standards for determining the correct growth of key indicators.

Normal height for boys under 1 year of age can be seen in the table:

After 1 year and up to 17 years, the following growth is common for boys:

Normal weight for boys under 1 year of age is shown in the table:

Normal weight for boys aged 2 to 17 years is shown in the table:

Normal growth parameters for girls under 1 year of age can be seen in the table:

Normal height for girls aged 2 to 17 years is shown in the table:

Normal weight parameters for girls under 1 year of age can be seen in the table:

Normal weight for girls aged 2 to 17 years is shown in the table:

Fig.1 PERCENTILE CHART OF HEIGHT AND WEIGHT FOR GIRLS

Fig.2

Figures 1 and 2 show height values ​​for boys and girls. For example, a boy is 6 years old and his height is 110 cm. You mark the intersection point of a line drawn upward from the number 6 with a horizontal line at 110 cm and make sure that your child’s height is normal. You also see that at this age, normal, healthy children can be between 108 and 122 cm tall. Another example: A child is 14 years old and his height is 135 cm. You see that his height is below the lower limit of normal. You should immediately consult a doctor to determine the cause of the child’s growth retardation.

Physical development of boys from 0 to 17 years

Centile tables for boys contain indicators that allow you to assess the child's development, but they are not enough to make a complete assessment of physical development.

To do this, you need to study 3 indicators:

• anthropometric data;
• data on the functional functioning of the body;
• somatoscopic examination data.

An anthropometric study allows you to find out indicators such as height, body weight, chest and head circumference and compare them with the norm indicated in centile tables. Such manipulations make it possible to identify deviations in the harmony of development.

The study of the functionality of the body includes the study of muscles, lungs and the functioning of the cardiac system. Indicators of muscle strength in children can be assessed visually by how the child has mastered movements that are characteristic of his age.

Such as:

• hold your head (3 months);
• ability to sit (6-7 months);
• walking (12 months);
• appearance of speech (2 years);
• cycling skill (3 years).

  

• Also, using a visual examination, you can evaluate somatoscopic data such as:

1. color of the skin;
2. condition of the skin;
3. condition of mucous membranes;
4. volume of fat layer;
5. posture.

If any deviations are detected, you should contact your pediatrician for advice. Anthropometric data measurements must be carried out annually when the child reaches the age of 1 year. Up to a year monthly.

You can assess the correctness of a child’s growth using the Kislyakovskaya table, which takes into account the peculiarities of changes in the ratio of height and weight of boys up to one year old.

The norm is considered to be not only complete compliance with the data in the table, but also a deviation from them by 10%. A higher percentage of deviation is considered a violation. In such a situation, additional examination is necessary.

After a year, the normal development of a boy can also be checked using the formulas:

• to calculate average height, you need to multiply your age (in years) by 8 and add 77;
• to calculate the average weight, you need to multiply your age (in years) by 2500 and add 10500;
• to calculate the average chest circumference, you need to multiply your age (in years) by 2.5 and add 51;
• To calculate the average head circumference you need to add 47 to your age (in years).

Scales for premature babies

To assess the growth of premature babies, the Fenton, INTERGROWTH-21, Olsen, Boghossian, Aris and others scales are used.

The first version of the Fenton scale was created in 2003 [9]. After receiving new data, adjustments were made, and in 2013 an updated version was released, which is currently widely used [10].

The scale is a reference, applicable for premature infants up to 36 6/7 weeks of gestation inclusive [4] and is designed to assess growth up to 50 weeks of PMA inclusive.

The Fenton scale is not correct for assessing the growth of full-term newborns.

Advantages of the Fenton scale:

• contains data on children from different countries - from Germany (Voight, 2010), America (Olsen, 2010), Canada (Kramer et al), Scotland (Bonellie, 2008), Italy (Bertino, 2010) and Australia (Roberts, 1999) ;
• data were obtained with the participation of a large number of premature and full-term children 22-40 weeks of gestation;
• allows you to record the child’s growth data at the current age - not only in full weeks, but also in days, for example, 30.5 weeks;
• adapted to the WHO scale.

Anthropometric data typical for the age of 40 weeks on the Fenton scale (2013) represent a seam between data obtained at birth of children of different gestational ages up to and including 40 weeks and WHO data for full-term newborns (scale for 0-2 years) [10].

Using certain calculations, the gap between the growth curves (Fenton 2013 and WHO analysis) was eliminated and, as a result, a smoothed curve was obtained. However, the authors doubted whether premature babies really have similar growth dynamics? After all, it is known that at 37–40 weeks of pregnancy, fetal growth slows down [11]. During observations in premature infants upon reaching postmenstrual age of 37-40 weeks, no such slowdown was observed, but, on the contrary, there was a noticeable increase in growth. A little later, Fenton et al. in a study involving more than 970 premature babies confirmed this and took the results into account when compiling a new scale for 2013 [10].

The 40-50 week interval on the Fenton scale is based on data obtained from studies examining the growth of premature infants.

• The Fenton Score is equivalent to the WHO Score—preterm baby height at 50 weeks postmenstrual age = preterm baby height at 10 weeks corrected age or term baby height at 10 weeks.

After 36 weeks of gestation, the Fenton scale shows the catch-up growth of the premature baby [10].

Disadvantages of the Fenton scale:

• data include growth indicators - weight, body length and head circumference - of premature children (fetuses) at birth at different gestational ages (22-40 weeks) and growth indicators of healthy full-term children (scale data after 40 weeks), without the influence of prematurity and associated with it conditions on their health [10];
• the scale is based on data obtained from one-time measurement of height and weight, and not over time;
• Data from different studies have been analyzed - there is heterogeneity/inhomogeneity of the work performed.

The growth of the majority of premature infants when assessed at one time using the Fenton scale is insufficient, so they are often diagnosed with malnutrition.

In 2010, Olsen et al. published a reference scale designed to assess height - weight, body length and head circumference in premature infants. The scale is based on data obtained from many clinics located in America [12]. Olsen's data were later included in Fenton's analysis of the scale in 2013 [10].

In 2015, Olsen et al., based on the data used to compile the 2010 scale, published a scale for assessing body mass index in premature infants to assess the proportionality of their growth [13].

The scale is most valuable for use in assessing growth in very preterm infants. Boghossian et al. collected anthropometric indicators—weight and head circumference—from more than 180 thousand children born at 22–29 weeks of gestation [14]. All children were born in America.

In addition, the authors created scales for preterm infants based on their race.

The scale is based on the most recent data obtained from birth records of preterm infants in America [15]. The scale was published in 2019, and data was collected throughout 2021. The advantage of the scale is the large number of participants, about 3 million. The disadvantage is that the scale is a reference and allows you to estimate only the weight of children.

The ideal growth of a preterm baby is considered to be similar to that of a fetus (AAP and CPS [16,17]). However, the ideal pattern of growth and development has not yet been determined.

The intrauterine growth scales compiled by Fenton, Olsen, Boghossian and Aris are based on data obtained from measurements of large numbers of children born prematurely at different stages of pregnancy. In practice, these scales are used to assess the gestational age of a preterm infant based on weight, length, and head circumference, assess growth dynamics, and determine growth retardation and/or underweight at hospital discharge.

Intrauterine growth curves use the size of the preterm baby at birth at different gestational ages as an ideal [2,3]. However, it is known that factors that cause premature birth of a child also negatively affect its growth [18]. Scales that are based on the size of children born prematurely may in reality give underestimated values ​​[2,3,8].

About half of preterm births are associated with fetal growth restriction [18].

The growth of a premature baby is determined by factors different from those that determine the growth of the fetus in the womb. Therefore, it is incorrect to compare the growth of a premature baby and a fetus of the same postmenstrual age [19]. However, the problem is that there are no healthy premature babies.

The authors of the INTERGROWTH-21 scale (preterm postnatal growth standards) tried to select children with the lowest risk factors (without IUGR, NEC, BPD, IVH and other serious pathologies), dynamically assessed their anthropometric indicators and, as a result, compiled a graphic scale as a standard for assessment growth of premature infants [19].

The main drawback of the scale is that the number of participants is not so large - only 12 children less than 32 weeks of gestation [19]. This calls into question the use of the scale as a standard [20]. For comparison, the number of participants when compiling the Fenton scale was 58.5 thousand less than 32 weeks of gestation [2,10].

In addition, according to a number of observations, the scale has insufficient diagnostic ability for postnatal growth retardation [2,20].

The advantage of the INTERGROWTH-21 scale is the accurate determination of the gestational age of children and the accurate measurement of anthropometric indicators over a long period in accordance with WHO standards [19].

For more information about growth scales, see the article “Prognostic significance of scales for assessing growth in preterm infants.”

Physical development of girls from 0 to 17 years

In order to find out whether a girl is developed normally for her age, it is necessary to calculate 3 parameters: anthropometric, functional and somatoscopic.

The last 2 include checking the operation of internal systems and the external condition of the child, so they are carried out by specialists. Parents can check anthropometric data on their own. To do this, you need to measure the child and then compare the measurements with the tables.

At the age of up to one year, you can use centile tables and the Kislyakovskaya table.

The latest is shown below:

This table is aimed at identifying deviations in weight gain and height of children under one year old.

Over 1 year and up to 17 years, the main parameters can be calculated using the formulas:

• to calculate average height, you need to multiply your age (in years) by 8 and add 77;
• to calculate the average weight, you need to multiply your age (in years) by 2500 and add 10400;
• to calculate the average chest circumference, you need to multiply your age (in years) by 2.5 and add 51;
• To calculate the average head circumference you need to add 45 to your age (in years).

  

It should be taken into account that at the age of 8 girls begin puberty. During this period, sharp jumps in both height and weight may be observed. It is also around this time that breasts begin to grow.

WHO centile tables for assessing the physical development of girls

WHO has developed centile tables that take into account the developmental characteristics of children from birth to 17 years of age. They contain all the basic parameters, both their normal value and deviations from the norm.

Height according to age

Weight for age

Correspondence of head circumference to age

Correspondence of chest girth to age

WHO centile tables for assessing the physical development of boys

Centile tables for boys, which are used to identify developmental disorders, were developed by the World Health Organization and contain all the main parameters. Such as height, weight, chest and head circumference.

Height according to age

Weight for age

Correspondence of head circumference to age

Correspondence of chest girth to age

How to use and evaluate using centile tables

Centile tables help reveal how boys and girls develop. In the tables, the most common value is located in the center, to the left the indicator decreases, and to the right it increases.

To assess the child’s condition, you need to find his parameters in the table and compare them with the norm, which is also indicated here.

Interpretation of centiles

To find out from the table which growth category a child belongs to, you need to find its value and look in which column it is located. If the column is central or located close to it, then growth is normal and corresponds to approximately 50% of the population.

Centile tables for boys - statistics

If it is located to the extreme right or left, then deviations from the norm are observed, upward or downward, respectively. However, here the deviation from the norm is not critical. The situation is more complicated with determining the normality of development of anthropometric indicators.

To do this, it is necessary to measure several parameters:

• height;
• weight;
• Head circumference;
• chest circumference.

Then find all the data in the table and see if they are in the same column. If yes, then the child develops harmoniously without disturbances. The same conclusion can be drawn if the indicators are located in adjacent columns. If the spread is more than one column, then there is a growth disorder. The development is completely disharmonious if the spread is more than three columns.

How to use WHO tables?

1. Find the line that matches the child's age.
2. Determine between which values ​​in this line the child’s weight (height) lies:
   between column indicators -1 SD and 1 SD. This is an area of ​​average values, half of healthy children of a given age have the same weight (height);
3. between column indicators -3 SD and -1 SD, 1 SD and 3 SD. These are areas of reduced or increased weight (height), such children in the population are about 44%, and this is also a variant of the norm. Lower (higher) weight (height) may be associated with genetic characteristics (for example, such as the height of parents, the weight of the child at birth), constitutional and metabolic characteristics;
4. the weight (height) value is beyond the indicators of the -3 SD and 3 SD columns. Such values ​​are a reason to consult a doctor to examine the child and find out the reasons for the lag (advance) in weight (height). Although about 6% of healthy children have the same indicators.

What to do if the indicators are higher or lower than normal?

If any deviation from the norm is discovered, do not panic and take it as a diagnosis. There are several reasons for disharmonious development. One of these is heredity; if there were very tall people in the family, then most likely the child will be taller than the statistical average.

Also, the parameters may differ due to the country of manufacture of the centile table. For example, a comparison of the parameters of a Russian child was made using tables from China, and the Chinese are usually lower than Europeans. Therefore, discrepancies may occur. In addition, children sometimes develop in leaps and bounds, and if at 3 months there were deviations from the norm, then by the age of one year everything is fine.

However, if any abnormalities are detected in a boy or girl in comparison with the data of the centile tables, it is worth contacting a pediatrician for additional examination in order to avoid possible negative consequences.

Article design: Mila Friedan