ABSTRACT
Growth is the fundamental physiologic process that characterizes childhood. It should be closely monitored by pediatricians and families alike as a benchmark of a child’s health. Similarly, secular trends in growth patterns are followed as indicators of children’s health on a population level. The American Academy of Pediatrics reiterated the importance of growth in March 2000 ‘‘Recommendations for Preventative Pediatric Health Care,’’ stating that a child’s height and weight should be measured at least at birth, age two to four days, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 months, and every year thereafter through age 21 (1), and the measurements plotted on a growth chart.
