American Journal of Diseases of Children
Volume 138, Issue 6, 1984, Pages 544-547

Height and Weight Status of Indochinese Refugee Children: An Anthropometric Study of 1,650 Children (Article)

Olness K.* , Yip R. , Indritz A. , Torjesen E.
  • a Department of Pediatrics Minneapolis Children's Health Center, San Francisco, United States
  • b Department of Pediatrics University of California, San Francisco, United States
  • c Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States
  • d Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, United States

Abstract

To provide guidelines for assessing growth status of Indochinese refugee children, height and weight measurements were obtained from 1,650 children residing in Lao refugee camps, Cambodian refugee camps, and surrounding Thai villages. These are compared with the few existing growth references for Asian children. In comparison to US growth standards for children, the mean weight for age and mean height for age of the studied groups are approximately 2 SDs below US means. Weight for height is 0.7 SD below US means. This marked difference in growth status appears to be due to nutritional factors related more to cultural or economic issues affecting these children than to their genetic background. The US growth standards can serve as reference tools in evaluating the growth status of newly arrived Southeast Asian children, if used with the perspective that Southeast Asian children, on a group basis, have different distributions on US growth curves. © 1984, American Medical Association. All rights reserved.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

human Refugees rural population geographic distribution normal value weight United States classification male female growth Child, Preschool clinical article diagnosis Support, Non-U.S. Gov't body weight growth curve Age Factors ethnic or racial aspects normal human anthropometry body height Asia, Southeastern body height age Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0021236537&doi=10.1001%2farchpedi.1984.02140440028006&partnerID=40&md5=456b6f0cc6dde092b2789fe333eb540e
DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.1984.02140440028006
ISSN: 0002922X
Cited by: 13
Original Language: English