Growth Chart Canada – Learn Statistics of Canada’s Children

A growth chart is an analytical graph that shows a child’s growth over time- say 36 months. The concept of a growth chart comes from having measured the growth of normal children.

The chart uses previously recorded height, weight, and head circumference to predict if a child’s growth is normal or any abnormalities.

The chart can also predict the final height and weight of a child growing up. A child’s growth in height and weight must follow its curve.

Any fluctuations in the measurement of a child’s growth from the general curve call for a check-up. Growth charts (including growth chart Canada) are gender-based- different for both genders.

The charts have been tested and issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). The charts came to being in 2006.

The growth charts are useful to know if a child’s growth is normal or needs some medical support to make it that way.

If there is a difference between the chart and the child (in the same values), there is a need to step in and help the child grow normally. Different countries have different growth charts. Let’s look at the growth charts in Canada.

Growth Chart Canada
Photo from Growth Chart Canada website

Growth Chart Canada

The WHO has also issued some sample charts for children’s growth(Growth Chart Canada). The latest issue was revised in 2014 March, which can be checked at www.whogrowthcharts.ca.

The charts have been issued after several checks from Canadian doctors, paediatricians, and other medical schools in the country. The charts include different measurements for children from ages zero to nineteen.

The growth chart also has certain important points to keep in mind to help children grow normally.

The growth charts in Canada were developed by the Canadian Pediatric Society, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group, and other Dietitians in Canada.

The charts (growth chart Canada) issued in 2014 have two sets. Both sets of 2014 growth charts are like the ones issued in 2010. However, the Canadian Pediatric Endocrine Group (CPEG) has announced Set 2 as the major chart. Plotting and measuring children’s growth is very important if one wants to ensure proper and normal growth.

The project includes a full report, summary, guide, questions, and answers for doctors and parents. The charts have been meticulously made and well-optimized to show the correct way and path to a child’s growth to an adult.

The fluctuations in measurement mean some illness or disease has taken over because the growth hasn’t been naturally normal.

The growth charts are reliable because they are accurate and made after studying thousands of children and their growth time. Height and weight, according to age, are noted and studied- if they are normal or not.

Growth charts(like Growth Chart Canada) help determine obesity or height shortage or even a child being underweight or if the height has grown far beyond normal kids.

The growth charts(including growth chart Canada) are different for girls than they are for boys.

These charts are frequent use by Canadian paediatricians. The charts are mainly for “assessment” and “monitoring” of a child’s growth.

These are the two sets of growth charts used in Canada:

Photo from Growth Chart Canada website

Set 1 uses the 3rd, 15th, 50th, 85th, 97th, and the 99.9th centile for Birth-24 months, Weight-for-length; and 2-19 years, BMI-for-age (as displayed below).
Set 2 uses the 3rd, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, 97th (substituting 85th for 90th centile and including the 99.9th centile for Birth to 24 months, Weight-for-length; and 2-19 years, BMI-for-age).

The charts are as important as BMI. Both these sets are aligned with the recommendations passed in the earlier versions of 2010.

CPEG suggested the use of set 2 as the primary chart. One can view, download, or print the charts in pdf formats. The colour of the boys’ charts is blue, and those of the girls’ charts are pink. This is the standard used by Canadian paediatricians. The recommended paperweight is 80#.

The growth charts (Growth Chart Canada)were first developed by NCHS (National Center for Health Statistics) to determine if the growth of a child is adequate or not. They were started in the year 1977—the WHO took up this concept for international use.

The concept behind the use of growth charts in Canada is straightforward and clear: the chart holds average data on the height, weight, and head circumference of a child, at different ages.

So a newly born is judged to be growing fine or not if they match the numbers. This is how a growth chart works.

The charts are beneficial, easy to use, and have now been used for over forty years. These charts (issued by WHO) are being used worldwide by doctors, paediatricians, and others.

The process of reading a growth chart is straightforward. Check the height and weight of a child against the age. That is all you have to do.

The readings you find in the charts are precise and have been meticulously inserted after carefully studying the data from thousands of children.

These charts are endlessly important. The parents can use the charts to see if their child is growing normally or is out, of course.

The WHO Child Growth Standards were printed in 2006. They were made using about 8000 newborns from Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman, and the USA.

These were called growth standards. In 2010, Canada replaced CDC growths, which had been used since 2000.

This change came because several Dietitians of Canada, the Canadian Paediatric Society, the College of Family Physicians of Canada, and the Community Health Nurses of Canada came together and decided on a new norm for knowing the proper growth rates of children.

This is when the growth charts of WHO was called in and made use of. The charts depict the rates of child growth from age two to nineteen.

The charts (growth chart Canada) can be seen on the website – https://www.dietitians.ca/growthcharts. The charts depict the height-weight-age ratio of children from 2 to 19.

The charts are fairly useful and are referred to by many paediatricians in Canada to see if the child’s growth is adequate. There is a chance of revision of these charts in the future, as time passes.

As reviewed by WHO and local doctors, Canada’s growth charts are very accurate and reliable. Whenever a child violates the charts’ ratio, it’s usually possible to have either some deficiency or some excess growth, both of which are not excellent information.

If there comes a time such a situation occurs, the child must be put on medication and must be helped through getting better; if not, we might say “normally growing.”

A major issue and problem in Canada is the “low birth weight rate.” A child with a weight lower than normal (as stated in the growth chart) is a common problem that Canada’s people and doctors face.

Doctors are trying their best to solve this problem due to variations in numbers from growth charts. Canada faces serious issues like genetic disorders, chronic diseases, infectious diseases, and many other problems.

 The problems with head circumference are more than the problems with height or weight. In Canada and the world, it has been found that children who have been breastfed are taller and healthier comparatively.

However, even here, breastfed children have better chances of having a normal head circumference—the different charts provided by WHO can be found on the following website: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/4/1/e003735.

Photo from Growth Chart Canada website

Quick Revision

The growth chart Canada is an analytical graph that helps measure a toddler’s growth to an adult, keeping in mind- height, weight, and head circumference as per the child’s age.

The age ranges from about 2 years to 19. The chart uses previously recorded height, weight, and head circumference to predict if the child’s growth is normal or abnormal.

Growth charts are different for both genders. The charts have mostly been tested and issued by the World Health Organization. Different countries have different growth charts.

Some Final Thoughts

In the end, it’s easy to say that a growth chart is a highly important document that helps a doctor or a paediatrician to predict if the height, weight, and head circumference of a child is normal or does it need special treatment to make it that way.

The growth charts in Canada (issued by WHO with the help of several Canadian institutions) are quite accurate and are widely used in the country.

In Canada, children’s birth weight is a problem because they are not always in the range as per the growth charts. The charts of several countries will be revised and updated in the future as time passes.

Therefore, it is important to see a growth chart’s essentials and how it helps the paediatricians, doctors, and parents help their children grow and enjoy a happy, healthy life.

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Last Updated on by alishbarehman

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