At a glance
This page provides a summary of key points from CDC's Growth Chart Training Module titled Overview of CDC Growth Charts. It also provides additional resources and references.
Summary
To monitor U.S. children's growth, CDC recommends that health care providers use the:
- CDC 2000 Growth Charts for children and adolescents 2 years and older. These include stature-for age, weight-for-age, and BMI-for-age charts.
- CDC 2022 Extended BMI-for-Age Growth Charts for children and adolescents 2 years and older with very high BMIs (above the 97th percentile for age and sex).
The growth charts use percentile curves to show how a child compares to other children of the same sex and age in the reference population used to create the growth charts.
Resources
BMI Tools and Resources
CDC's Child and Teen BMI Calculator
Computer Programs for Children's Growth Data
CDC Table for Calculated BMI Values for Selected Heights and Weights for Aged 2 to 20
BMI Frequently Asked Questions
Growth Charts
CDC Extended BMI-for-Age Growth Charts
Background: CDC Extended BMI-for-Age Growth Charts
Steps to Plot Growth Measurements by Hand
Other Documents
2022 CDC Extended BMI-for-Age Growth Charts for Children and Adolescents with Severe Obesity Media statement.
Childhood Obesity Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Flegal KM, Cole TJ. Construction of LMS parameters for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2000 growth charts [PDF-87KB]. Natl Health Stat Report. 2013;(63):1–3.
Grummer-Strawn LM, Reinold C, Krebs NF; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Use of the World Health Organization and CDC growth charts for children aged 0–59 months in the United States. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2010;59(RR-9);1–15.
Hales CM, Freedman DS, Akinbami L, et al. Evaluation of Alternative Body Mass Index (BMI) Metrics to Monitor Weight Status in Children and Adolescents With Extremely High BMI Using CDC BMI-for-age Growth Charts. Vital Health Stat 1. 2022 Dec;(197):1-42. doi:
Hampl SE, Hassink SG, Skinner AC, et al. Executive Summary: Clinical Practice Guideline for the Evaluation and Treatment of Children and Adolescents With Obesity. Pediatrics. 2023;151(2):e2022060641. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2022-060640
Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Grummer-Strawn LM, et al. CDC growth charts: United States [PDF-550KB]. Advance Data. 2000;(314):1-27.
Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Guo SS, et al. 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States: methods and development [PDF-5.32MB]. Vital Health Stat11. 2002;(246)1–190