Regional BMI Reference Curves for Children Aged 1-60 Months in Balochistan-Pakistan

Muhammad Aslam, Bahauddin Zakariya University
Natasha Akbar, Department of Statistics Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan-Pakistan

The present study aimed to develop regional body mass index (BMI) reference growth curves for the children aged 1-60 months, of Balochistan which is the least developed province of Pakistan. The weight and height of 10,297 including 5,213 (50.6%) boys and 5,084 (49.4%) girls from rural and urban areas of Balochistan were used from a cross-sectional study. The growth reference charts of BMI-for-age were constructed for boys and girls using the lambda-mu-sigma (LMS) method with the help of a generalized additive model for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS). These values were then compared with the growth reference values developed by the WHO. The smoothed percentile values with L, M, and S values for BMI for boys and girls from aged 1 month to 60 months were computed. The mean ± (sd) of BMI for both boys and girls were: 16.1 ± (3.4) kg/m2 and 15.8 ± (3.6) kg/m2 respectively. Median BMI increased steeply in the early age of months, with a peak at 12 months then declined about 60 months in both sexes. The results of this study indicated that the cut-off points for obesity were lower than those of the international average.

Keywords: Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Gender Dynamics, Health and Morbidity, Population and Development

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