Changes in weight, length, head circumference, and ponderal index at birth of healthy term newborns in nine cities in China during the period of rapid social development 1985–2005

Ya-qin Zhang and Hui Li

Economics & Human Biology, 2015, vol. 19, issue C, 45-50

Abstract: The changes in the anthropometric parameters at birth of healthy singleton term newborns in nine cities in China were analyzed by means of the data collected in three large-scale cross-sectional physical growth surveys in 1985, 1995, and 2005 (n=6660, 7109 and 6144). Between 1985 and 2005, average increases in body weight (BW), body length (BL), ponderal index (PI), and head circumference (HC) of newborns were statistically significant: 107g, 0.2cm, 0.6kg/m3 and 0.4cm, respectively. The relative increase in BW was more than that in BL (3.4% vs 0.4%) in the last two decades, leading to an increase in PI. The distribution of birth size shifted slightly to the right, and the proportion of macrosomia increased from 3.2% in 1985 to 3.4% in 1995 and to 4.3% in 2005. The increases in BW and PI and the increase in rate of macrosomia are concerns from public health perspectives.

Keywords: Newborns; Weight; Length; Ponderal index; Time trends (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:19:y:2015:i:c:p:45-50

DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2015.07.003

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