This report is a useful addition to previously published volumes related to WHO Child Growth Standards. The data on which the report is based were collected between 1997 and 2003 on 8440 healthy breastfed infants and young children of diverse ethnic backgrounds (Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman and USA). The first report describing length/height and weight by age was released in 2006, followed a year later by a second supplementary report on head and arm circumference, and sub-scapular and triceps skin folds. A key component of the study design was a longitudinal cohort of children (n = 1737; 894 boys and 843 girls) who were measured in a sequence of 21 visits starting at birth and ending at age of 24 months. The rationale for this nested study component was to develop growth velocity standards, which are a superior measure of growth compared with attained size for age. The first three sections of the report describe the methodology employed, giving the reasons for it. As with the preceding two reports electronic copies of the full set of velocity standards are available on www.who.int/childgrowth/en. Taken together, these publications provide useful sets of tools for diagnosing childhood malnutrition in the developing world as well as over-nourishment in the more developed world.
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G. J. Ebrahim (2009) studied this question.