Physical Growth of Preschool Children Participating in the Cherokee WIC Program

Physical growth data of 921 Cherokee Indian children who are or who were participants of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) from 1976 to 1982 was collected. Information was obtained from 390 WIC women with children on the WIC program. Distance and velocity data for height and weight were documented for the WIC children from birth to five.

Mean heights for these children tended to be less than those of Native Americans living in Minnesota and less than or equal to those reported in the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth charts. Mean weights, however, were greater than those reported in the NCHS charts and slightly less than those of the Minnesota sample. Mean hematocrits of the Cherokee WIC children were lower than the national norm but higher than those of the Minnesota Indians.

Within sample comparisons were drawn by age, sex, center of WIC service, degree of Indian inheritance, infant feeding patterns and number of visits to WIC clinics. Males were generally taller and heavier than females from birth through five years of age. Participants of the Robbinsville clinic were generally taller and heavier than those from the Murphy and Cherokee clinics. Participants from the Murphy clinic were the shortest and thinnest of the participants. After two years of age there was an increase in weight associated with an increase in the degree of Indian inheritance. There was an association between bottle feeding at birth and an increase in weight during the first two years of life but this trend did not continue past the age of three. Participants who visited WIC regularly tended to be taller and heavier than those who did not.

Significant differences were found between participants of the three Cherokee WIC clinics for height. Participants of the Robbinsville clinic were taller than those from the Murphy and Cherokee clinics.

A covariance analysis revealed significant differences in weight between participants of the three Cherokee WIC clinics. Participants of the Robbinsville clinic were heavier than those from the Murphy and Cherokee clinics.