OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to assess the growth of adolescents enrolled in the public school system of the State of Paraná and compare the data with that of the National Health and Nutrition Survey South Region and to identify the occurrence of stunting by comparison to reference values. METHODS: A total of 13,216 students were selected by convenience sampling. The sample consisted of 6,323 boys and 6,893 girls, aged 10 to 18 years. The height-for-age distribution was analyzed using normal plots and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. A growth curve was constructed for the students in Paraná in order to compare it with the values from the National Health and Nutrition Survey South Region and Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2000. RESULTS: The height-for-age index of the students followed a normal distribution for all ages and both genders. The prevalence of stunting is very close to that expected for a normal population. The height median is higher than that of the National Health and Nutrition Survey South Region, for all ages and both genders. A stunting of 0.05 to 2.39cm was found among the 12- to 18-year-olds. CONCLUSION: The positive differences between the studied population and the data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey South Region, along with the small deficits when compared with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reference values suggest that improvements in the social and economic conditions of Paraná may have contributed to these results. Regional differences must be considered for better planning of public policies.
Adolescents; Nutrition assessment; Anthropometry; Body height; Growth
