Height and weight were measured by a registered nurse or nurse practitioner. The B4SC handbook instructs that children should be measured wearing light clothing, shoes removed and with equipment stable on a levelled hard surface [15 ]. Height was measured to the nearest 0.1 cm using a portable stadiometer (either Leicester Height Measure or a SECA 214) and weight to the nearest 0.1 kg using a SECA 862 electronic floor scale or Tanita WB 100 S MA floor scale (or SECA 770 or Tanita HD-351 weighing scale); calibrated at least once every 6 months.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Anthro Software - STATA ‘igrowup’ package was used to obtain the WHO growth standards including sex-specific BMI-for-age z-scores [16 ], henceforth referred to as BMI z-score. We used WHO growth standards to ensure continuity with our previously published work [12 (link)], because they have been endorsed for New Zealand by the New Zealand Ministry of Health [15 ], and because this paper concentrates on changes over time within New Zealand children rather than international comparisons.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Anthro Software - STATA ‘igrowup’ package was used to obtain the WHO growth standards including sex-specific BMI-for-age z-scores [16 ], henceforth referred to as BMI z-score. We used WHO growth standards to ensure continuity with our previously published work [12 (link)], because they have been endorsed for New Zealand by the New Zealand Ministry of Health [15 ], and because this paper concentrates on changes over time within New Zealand children rather than international comparisons.
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