Body mass index and weight-for-length ratio references for infants born at 33-42 weeks gestation: a new tool for anthropometric assessment.

Background & Aims: The risk of childhood obesity, an increasingly prevalent problem worldwide, might be predictable by early body mass index measurements. This study sought to develop body mass index and weight-for-length ratio references for infants born at 33-42 weeks gestation and to validate these data against the growth curves of the World Health Organization Multicenter Growth Reference Study.

Methods: Data were collected from the Neonatal Registry of Rabin Medical Center for all healthy singleton babies born live at 33-42 weeks gestation.

New and improved Israeli reference of birth weight, birth length, and head circumference by gestational age: a hospital-based study.

Background: Many centers in Israel still use pre-1970 reference data for neonatal weight, length and head circumference. A recently published population-based reference overestimated the weight of premature infants.

Objective: To develop a national reference for birth weight, birth length and head circumference by gestational age for singleton infants in Israel.