بررسي قد و وزن كودكان 11-7 ساله شهر شاهرود در سال هاي تحصيلي 84-1382 و مقايسه آن با استاندارد جهاني

Evaluation of the height and weight of students aged 7-11 years in Shahrood, 2003-2005

Background: Childrenʹs physical growth is of utmost importance and their height and weight measurements are the most valuable factors in order to study and evaluate the quantity and quality of their growth. In Iran, like many other countries, NCHS standard charts are used, however, due to ethnic and geographical variations local charts should be prepared in order to compare childrenʹs status of health and growth. Materials and method: During the present cross sectional study, some primary schools were selected randomly and the height and weight of all 7-11 years old students (2224 students) were measured. Those with known disease affecting growth were excluded. Results: Our results indicated that the mean of height and weight of 7 years old girls had been 120.04cm and 21.23kg, respectively, however, these figures increased to 140.49cm and 31.88kg by the age of 11 years. These figures were 119.32cm and 21.5kg and 139.36cm and 31.98kg for 7 and 11 years old boys, respectively. Discussion: Results revealed that the mean height and weight of children in Shahrood is lower than the international standards. This suggests that nursing education should be improved to provide a higher level of health services. Also parents, teachers and school health care providers need some further training regarding children nourishment, health, vaccination and disorders and disease prevention, as these factors have critical roles in childrenʹs physical growth.