Attained growth status of selected groups of Israeli children.

Analyses of available growth data from different groups of Israeli children revealed wide differences in attained growth in groups of children whose parents immigrated from different countries. By means of analyses of variance, it was shown that these differences in growth are most likely due to differences in the socioeconomic level of the family, rather than being related to parental country of origin. The data also suggest that nutrition problems among Israeli children, although not very severe, reflect a moderate degree of maldistribution of available food resources in different socioeconomic and cultural subgroups. The data also support the applicability and usefulness of a reference population data base drawn from children in the United States, in evaluating the attained growth status of children in different population groups.