• About
  • Masthead
  • License Content
  • Advertise
  • Submit Press Release
  • RSS/Email List
  • 2MM Podcast
  • Write for us
  • Contact Us
2 Minute Medicine
No Result
View All Result

No products in the cart.

SUBSCRIBE
  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan+
  • Classics™+
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
2 Minute Medicine
  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan+
  • Classics™+
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
SUBSCRIBE
2 Minute Medicine
Subscribe
Home All Specialties Chronic Disease

Height and BMI trajectories in children and adolescents are highly variable across the global population

byVineeth BhogadiandTeddy Guo
November 21, 2020
in Chronic Disease, Pediatrics, Public Health
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

1. In 2019, a mean height difference of 20 cm or greater was estimated between adolescents in countries with the tallest populations such as the Netherlands, Estonia, Montenegro and those with the shortest populations such as Timor-Leste, Bangladesh and Nepal.

2. The healthiest changes, considering both height and BMI (greater gains in height relative to BMI) over the last 35-years, occurred in girls in South Korea, Vietnam and some central Asian countries and boys in central and Western Europe. The unhealthiest changes (greater gains in weight relative to height) occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand and the USA for boys and girls.

Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)

Study Rundown: Height and body-mass index (BMI) serve as proxy measures of the quality of nutrition and living environment during early life, childhood, and adolescence. Having low height and excessively low BMI are both measures associated with increased morbidity and mortality. In contrast, high BMI is associated with increased risk of disability and premature death in adulthood. To date, much of the current research on global health and nutrition has focused on the period from preconception to 5 years of age with few studies investigating global trends in BMI or height for school-aged children (5-19 years). This population-based study pooled data from 2181 individual studies measuring height and weight in 65 million participants across 200 countries and territories over a 35-year period. Results showed highly variable age trajectories and trends over time in height and BMI of school-aged children across countries. Overall, the unhealthiest changes including gaining too little height, increased weight for height or both-occurred primarily in the USA, countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and New Zealand for boys and girls. The healthiest changes occurred in girls from South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and some central Asian countries and in boys from Central and Western Europe. Key strengths of the study include the notably large scale including 193 countries and territories while still maintaining a high standard of data representativeness and quality. However, although potential driving factors such as genetics, nutrition, and physical activity were proposed, the present study lacked the required data to correlate these characteristics with the observed trends and trajectories of height and BMI.

Click to read the study in The Lancet

Relevant Reading: The epidemiological burden of obesity in childhood: a worldwide epidemic requiring urgent action

RELATED REPORTS

New obesity framework may reclassify over half of overweight individuals as people with obesity

Mazdutide significantly reduces weight in adults with overweight or obesity

Body mass index-specific waist circumference thresholds may improve mortality risk stratification in women

In-Depth [retrospective cohort]: This population-based study utilized a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collected by the Non-communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC) for analysis of BMI and height in school-aged children and adolescents (5-19 years) between 1985 and 2019. A total of 65 million participants across 2181 population-based studies with measurements of height and weight were included. These studies were conducted across 200 countries and territories. Primary outcomes included population mean height and mean BMI from ages 5 to 19.

In 2019, the 19-year-olds who were on average the tallest in the world were from Northwestern and central European countries including the Netherlands (mean height 183.8 cm, 95% credible interval (CrI) 181.5 to 186.2) followed by Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands (mean height 170.4 cm, 95% CrI 168.3 to 172.4), Montenegro, Denmark and Iceland for girls. The 19-year-olds who were the shortest, on average, lived in south and southeastern Asia, Latin America and east Africa (mean height 160.1 cm, 95% CrI 158.0 to 162.2) for boys and Guatemala (150.9 cm, 95% CrI 149.4 to 152.4), Bangladesh, Nepal and Timor-Leste for girls. The 20 cm or higher difference in height between the tallest and shortest mean height countries represents approximately 6 years of growth gap for boys and 8 years for girls. When considering changes in both BMI and height over the last 35-years, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and some central Asian countries and boys in Central and Western Europe (Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Montenegro) had the healthiest anthropometric changes (greater increases in height relative to BMI). In contrast, the unhealthiest changes (greater increases in weight relative to height) occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand and the USA for both boys and girls.

Image: PD

©2020 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. All rights reserved. No works may be reproduced without expressed written consent from 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. Inquire about licensing here. No article should be construed as medical advice and is not intended as such by the authors or by 2 Minute Medicine, Inc.

Tags: adolescent healthBMIglobal healthobesityweight
Previous Post

Updated SYNTAX score II 2020 provides accurate risk stratification for mortality and cardiovascular events

Next Post

Plant-based QVLP influenza vaccine likely non-inferior to commercial inactivated vaccines

RelatedReports

Colonic byproduct may decrease long-term weight gain
Public Health

New obesity framework may reclassify over half of overweight individuals as people with obesity

July 14, 2025
Increasing maternal BMI linked to higher risk of cerebral palsy
Cardiology

Mazdutide significantly reduces weight in adults with overweight or obesity

July 11, 2025
Majority of obese tenth-graders already obese by fifth grade
Chronic Disease

Body mass index-specific waist circumference thresholds may improve mortality risk stratification in women

July 7, 2025
Sleep duration inversely related to childhood type 2 diabetes risk makers
Cardiology

Tirzepatide-associated improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors linked to degree of weight loss

June 23, 2025
Next Post
Influenza vaccine not associated with increased risk of epilepsy in children

Plant-based QVLP influenza vaccine likely non-inferior to commercial inactivated vaccines

Low free sugar diet reduces hepatic steatosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in adolescent males

Semaglutide associated with dose-dependent weight loss and resolution of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Evinacumab may be effective in reducing lipid levels in patients with refractory hypercholesterolemia

2 Minute Medicine® is an award winning, physician-run, expert medical media company. Our content is curated, written and edited by practicing health professionals who have clinical and scientific expertise in their field of reporting. Our editorial management team is comprised of highly-trained MD physicians. Join numerous brands, companies, and hospitals who trust our licensed content.

Recent Reports

  • New-generation antiseizure medications are better tolerated for patients with epilepsy
  • #VisualAbstract: Insulin Efsitora is Noninferior to Insulin Glargine in Type 2 Diabetes without Previous Insulin Therapy
  • Thrombolysis-to-puncture time greater than 70 minutes decreases odds of successful thrombectomy
License Content
Terms of Use | Disclaimer
Cookie Policy
Privacy Statement (EU)
Disclaimer

© 2021 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. - Physician-written medical news.

  • Specialties
    • All Specialties, All Recent Reports
    • Cardiology
    • Chronic Disease
    • Dermatology
    • Emergency
    • Endocrinology
    • Gastroenterology
    • Imaging and Intervention
    • Infectious Disease
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstetrics
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Pediatrics
    • Pharma
    • Preclinical
    • Psychiatry
    • Public Health
    • Pulmonology
    • Rheumatology
    • Surgery
  • AI Roundup
  • Pharma
  • The Scan
  • Classics™
    • 2MM+ Online Access
    • Paperback and Ebook
  • Rewinds
  • Visual
  • Podcasts
  • Partners
    • License Content
    • Submit Press Release
    • Advertise with Us
  • Account
    • Subscribe
    • Sign-in
    • My account
No Result
View All Result

© 2021 2 Minute Medicine, Inc. - Physician-written medical news.