The CDC and NCHS developed data that was adopted by WHO and then WFP.
> To determine a child's nutritional status,
you need to compare that child's status
with a reference for healthy children.
References are used to compare a child's
measurement(s) with the median for chil-
dren of the same sex and age for height-
for-age and weight-for-age, or to children
of the same sex and height for weight-for-
height. The internationally accepted reference was developed by the CDC and its
National Center for Health Statistics
(NCHS) using data collected from a popu-
lation of healthy children2.
> The World Health Organization (WHO)
adopted the NCHS reference curves for
international use. Evidence has shown
that the growth patterns of well-fed, healthy preschool children from diverse ethnic
backgrounds are similar and consequently
are applicable for children from all races
and ethnicities. These references are used
by agencies involved with nutritional
assessments and analysis, including WFP.
It seems like "worldwide height distribution for [healthy children of] their age and sex" would have been clearer phrasing. Either way, the ambiguity does not discredit the article's findings.
The CDC and NCHS developed data that was adopted by WHO and then WFP.
> To determine a child's nutritional status, you need to compare that child's status with a reference for healthy children. References are used to compare a child's measurement(s) with the median for chil- dren of the same sex and age for height- for-age and weight-for-age, or to children of the same sex and height for weight-for- height. The internationally accepted reference was developed by the CDC and its National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) using data collected from a popu- lation of healthy children2.
> The World Health Organization (WHO) adopted the NCHS reference curves for international use. Evidence has shown that the growth patterns of well-fed, healthy preschool children from diverse ethnic backgrounds are similar and consequently are applicable for children from all races and ethnicities. These references are used by agencies involved with nutritional assessments and analysis, including WFP.