Canada switches to growth charts based on WHO, not U.S., standards

by Yahoo Top Stories — February 8, 2010

By Anne-Marie Tobin, The Canadian Press

TORONTO - It's out with the old yardstick and in with the new as professional organizations that keep tabs on the height and weight of Canadian children turn to "superior" growth charts based on World Health Organization standards.

The monitoring charts for newborns to age five show how children should grow, rather than how they do grow, while the new charts for ages five to 19 are a better tool for identifying young people at risk for obesity.

A collaborative statement released Monday said the four leading national health groups have decided to move away from using charts developed by the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, which included the full range of American kids - including those routinely exposed to second-hand smoke and those who weren't immunized or breastfed.

"These new charts are actually much superior to what we've had in the past," said Tanis Fenton, a spokeswoman for Dietitians of Canada, one of the groups involved.

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Source:Yahoo Canada Top Stories