Obesity is considered an epidemic and also affects children and adolescents with Down syndrome. However, since a consensual parameter for diagnosing obesity in this population does not exist, the objetive of this study was to perform a critical review of the literature on anthropometric indices to assess the nutritional status of children and adolescents with this syndrome. The databases PubMed, MedLine, Lilacs and SciELO were searched focusing on the importance of anthropometric parameters and their relationship with obesity. Of the 83 articles found, 11 were selected for critical analysis. In the United States of America, weight and height curves were established specifically for children and adolescents with Down syndrome. When these curves were compared with those of the National Center for Health Statistics, they found that children and adolescents with Down syndrome grow less. The same fact was reported by European studies. In Brazil, Mustacchi developed weight-for-age and height-for-age indices for these children and compared his height-for-age curve with those of the National Center for Health Statistics and Cronk et al.'s, and found that Brazilian children with Down syndrome are significantly shorter. In conclusion, the anthropometric data in weight-for-height curves refer to a particular population and reveal their specific characteristics since they reflect the influence of environmental factors and genetic determinants. Therefore, it is necessary to define standard reference curves for children and adolescents with Down syndrome of different ages, regions and ethnicities, so that their nutritional status can be diagnosed properly.
Anthropometry; Growth; Body height; Obesity; Body weight; Down syndrome
