See Also
The BMI meter for children
Weight loss in breastfed babies
No two children are the same. And so each child grows at its own speed. Child Health Care professionals use growth diagrams to monitor whether a child is diverging too strongly from its peer group. In this way underlying problems can be identified at an early stage. TNO keeps track of the growth and development of Dutch children and translates this into monitoring instruments for professionals.
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Since 1955, TNO has been monitoring the growth and development of Dutch children by various methods, including national growth studies. The most recent study dates from 1997. The results allow the government to keep track of possible trends and, where necessary, to take action. TNO uses data from the growth studies to develop growth diagrams, to formulate criteria for identifying children with a divergent development and to develop instruments that help professionals to monitor and assess the development of an individual child.
In January 2008 the data collection for the Fifth Dutch Growth Study has started. Data on aspects such as height, weight and waist measurement will be compiled. A new feature of this study is that the incidence of underweight among children will be recorded as well. Preparations for the collection of data are now underway, while the new growth diagrams will become available towards the end of 2009.
Instruments for growth and development: (only available in Dutch)
The Growth Monitor is a useful 'calculator' for (semi) professionals in health care. They can use the Growth Monitor to calculate the standard deviation score (SDS) for a child's height, weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) in a simple way
The growth diagrams are the official reference standards for the growth of Dutch children aged between 0 and 21 years. There are separate diagrams for the children of Dutch, Turkish and Moroccan parents. The growth diagrams have been prepared by TNO/LUMC and are published by BSL
The size tables contain Dutch standards for body measurements that are important for the clothing industry. There are separate tables for men, women and children. Available from MODINT.
The D-score is a new measurement that allows the development of children aged between 0 and 2 years to be monitored and compared with that of their peers. It is still being studied how this new measurement can be used in practice.
Instruments for weight:
The new BMI meter is an instrument for establishing whether a child is underweight or overweight. It has new cut-off values for boys and girls
Normal weight loss in newborns. TNO has calculated norm values for the average, normal weight loss of newborns in the first fifteen day
The BMI nomogram is a graphic tool in which the BMI can be read for a given height or weight.
