height-weight chart

In medicine, chart relating height to weight for either adults or children. The height-weight chart for children is used to indicate if the rate of growth falls within normal limits, whilst that for adults is used as an indication of a healthy weight.

There is a wide variation of height and weight in normal children, so charts are based on percentiles describing distribution in the population. They are obtained by measuring that characteristic in at least 1,000 boys and girls at each age. From these data, the fiftieth centile can be calculated. This represents the mean value for that characteristic and 50% of recordings will be above it and 50% below it. Investigation of the cause is usual when the height of a child falls below the third centile, indicating the child is shorter than 97% of other children of that age.

Height-weight charts for adults have been devised using statistics obtained from life insurance companies. These statistics have suggested that life expectancy is greatest if the average weight at age 25 to 30 years is maintained throughout the rest of the individual's life. A 10% range on either side of normal is allowed to account for the build of the individual.