Anthropometric Growth Reference for Indian Children and Adolescents.

Objective: We aimed to develop anthropometric growth references for Indian children and adolescents, based on available 'healthy' child data from multiple national surveys.

Methodology: Data on 'healthy' children, defined by comparable WHO's Multicentre Growth Reference Study (MGRS) selection criteria, were extracted from four Indian surveys over the last 2 decades, viz, NFHS-3, 4, and 5 and Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS). Reference distributions of height-for-age for children up to 19 years, weight-for-age for children up to 9y, weight-for-height for children less than 5 years and BMI for age for children between 5-19 y were estimated by GAMLSS with Box-Cox Power Exponential (BCPE) family.

Customization of WHO Under-five Growth Standards for an Appropriate Quantification of Public Health Burden of Growth Faltering in India.

Objective: To examine the accuracy of World Health Organization (WHO) growth standard in under-5 year Indian children, and identify a method to contextualize the WHO standard for India.

Participants: Data of Healthy children, defined by WHO selection criteria, extracted from nationally representative Indian surveys (National Family Health Surveys, NFHS-3, NFHS-4, NFHS-5 and Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey, CNNS).

Design: Height for age z score (HAZ) and weight for age z score (WAZ) and weight for height z score (WHZ) distributions in healthy sample were compared against the standard normal.