Summary and Resources: Overview of CDC Growth Charts

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.

Toddler sitting on exam table and laughing with health care provider.

Summary

To monitor U.S. children's growth, CDC recommends that health care providers use the:

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

CDC's Adult 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 Clinical 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