The new WHO Child Growth Standards confirm that children born anywhere in the world and given the optimum start in life have the potential to develop to within the same range of height and weight. The new standards prove that differences in children's growth to age five are more influenced by nutrition, feeding practices, environment, and healthcare than genetics or ethnicity. Naturally there are individual differences among children, but across large populations, regionally and globally, the average growth is remarkably similar.

With these new standards, parents, doctors, policymakers and child advocates will know when the nutrition and healthcare needs of children are not being met. Under-nutrition, overweight and obesity, and other growth- related conditions can then be detected and addressed at an early stage. The new standards are based on the breastfed child as the norm for growth and development. This brings coherence for the first time between the tools used to assess growth, and national and international infant feeding guidelines, which recommend breastfeeding as the optimal source of nutrition during infancy. This will now allow accurate assessment, measurement and evaluation of breastfeeding and complementary feeding.

                                                  [Indian Journal of Medical Science ,2006;(60)4]

參考譯文

世界衛(wèi)生組織公布的新版《兒童生長標準》認定無論出生于何地的兒童，只要在出生時得到最適宜的照顧，其身高和體重就有潛力發(fā)育至相同范圍內(nèi)。這套新的標準表明,在5歲之前，營養(yǎng)狀況、喂養(yǎng)方式、生長環(huán)境，以及衛(wèi)生保健，是比基因或種族更影響兒童生長的重要因素。當然兒童之間仍存在個體差異，但是在局部地區(qū)或全球大樣本調(diào)查下。兒童平均生長范圍非常相似。

有了這套新標準，家長、醫(yī)生、決策者和兒童權(quán)利倡導(dǎo)者將會發(fā)現(xiàn)兒童的營養(yǎng)和衛(wèi)生保健需求何時未得到滿足?？稍缙诎l(fā)現(xiàn)并闡述營養(yǎng)不良、超重、肥胖以及其他生長相關(guān)狀況。新標準以母乳喂養(yǎng)的兒童作為生長發(fā)育的標準規(guī)范，并且首次將評估生長的工具與國內(nèi)和國際嬰兒喂養(yǎng)指南聯(lián)系起來。該指南建議母乳喂養(yǎng)作為嬰兒期最佳營養(yǎng)來源并可以對母乳喂養(yǎng)和補充喂養(yǎng)做出精確評估、測量與評價。

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