OBJECTIVES: to analyze physical growth in a representative sample of children and adolescents from the school population of the city of Londrina, Paraná, in the southern region of Brazil, by comparison with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reference (CDC-2000). METHODS: a total of 6084 subjects (3135 girls and 2949 boys) aged 7 to 18 years-old were included in the study. The body weight-for-age and height-for-age percentiles were obtained using the LMS method. The statistical and graphical comparisons were based on the corresponding percentiles of the CDC-2000 reference, estimated using the same method. RESULTS: in general, the values of L, M and S parameters and the estimated percentiles agree with those of the CDC-2000 reference, principally in adolescents of both sexes aged over 14 years. The discrepancies between the estimated and published values fluctuated between 0.02 and 0.71 % for the positive values and -0.01 and -2.84% for the negative values. CONCLUSIONS: the body weight-for-age and height-for-age percentiles of representative samples from schoolchildren in Londrina, Paraná, obtained using the LMS method, do not differ substantially from those of the CDC-2000 reference.
Anthropometry; Body weight; Height; Child; Adolescent
