Colombian reference growth curves for height, weight, body mass index and head circumference.

Aim: Published Growth studies from Latin America are limited to growth references from Argentina and Venezuela. The aim of this study was to construct reference growth curves for height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and head circumference of Colombian children in a format that is useful for following the growth of the individual child and as a tool for public health.

Methods: Prospective measurements from 27 209 Colombian children from middle and upper socio-economic level families were processed using the generalised additive models for location, scale and shape (GAMLSS).