All issues > Volume 2(2); 1959

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1959;2(2):101-116. Published online September 30, 1959.

Standard Weight and Height of Korean Oiildren of 6 Years and Older

J M Yang¹, E S Lim², K H Ko², C M Park³

¹Department of sanitary, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
³Department of Pediatrics, Presbyterian Hospital Taegu, Korea

Abstract

Weight and standing height are the -most -widely Tised measurements lor the evaluation of the growth of children. Considering that socioeconomic environ- :mental factors, especially the nutrition^ and the general health undoubteiily affect the growth, any standard established ealier should be revised from time to time. For the purpose of determinning growth trends of any definite group or population longitudinal method would be more desirable, however we were obliged to -use cross sectional method this time by collecting the records of school health cards of various grades nf schools in South Korea from 1956 to 1958. For the children of kindergardens the measurement was taken directly by ourse lves. Of 229,366 total measurement, 9,842 was of draftees of Seoul Area which is almost two fifth of the measurements of boys from 20 years and over. The mean weight and height(58.8±0.05kg, 167.6±0.04cm) of 13,924 college students from 20 years and over are significantly heavier and taller than thoseC56.4±0.06kg, 164.6±0.05cm) of 9,842 draftees, therefor we took both sources of data to adjust the selectivity in our sample in these age groups. We have neither assurance in the precision of the techniques nor in the accuracy of the tools used in school health examinations except what we did by ourselves. Howeyer we hope a large number of measurement would compensate such errors. Norms are given at six months intervals. But, in Table III & IV, the norms given under specified ages are composite grouping of measurements of children at intervening ages, and expressed with median ages of respective groups; whereas the norms given under specified ages m Table V & VI are that of children at or near(±15 days) the age in question. Since the conception of percentile seems to be more readily comprehensible to whom less skilled in statistics than any other way of expressing average and dispersion we primarily focussed our efforts in the formation of the percentle distribution tables. The Graph I & II was drawn by plotting the averages of every three percentiles of Table IV in order to make the curve smooth. We present these percentile tables and graphs for the contemporary use provided discernible consideration would be given in the application of such standard to the postpubescent stage of children.

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