New Finnish growth references for children and adolescents aged 0 to 20 years: Length/height-for-age, weight-for-length/height, and body mass index-for-age

Background and objectives. Growth curves require regular updates due to secular trends in linear growth. We constructed contemporary growth curves, assessed secular trends in height, and defined body mass index (BMI) cut-off points for thinness, overweight, and obesity in Finnish children. Material and methods: Mixed cross-sectional/longitudinal data of 73,659 healthy subjects aged 0--20 years (born 1983--2008) were collected from providers in the primary health care setting. Growth references for length/height-for-age, weight-for-length/height, and BMI-for-age were fitted using generalized additive models for location, scale, and shape (GAMLSS). BMI percentile curves passing through BMIs 30, 25, 18.5, 17, and 16 kg/m