Consanguineous marriages are common in many Middle Eastern countries, with first-cousin types being the most common. To cite only a few examples: The reported prevalence of consan-guinity in Jordan was 51.3%; 1 in Qatar, 54.0%; 2 in the United Arab Emirates, 50.5%; 3 and in Yemen, 40%. 4 In Saudi Arabia, reports from Saudi cities such as Riyadh and Dammam indicated prevalence rates of 51.3% and 52.0%, respectively. 5,6 However, El-Hazmi et al report-ed the first national consanguinity prevalence of 57.7%, with first-cousin marriages being the most frequent. 7 In a more recent survey of a representative sample of Saudi families defined by a multistage random sampling pro-cedure representing both urban and rural settlements,

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The 2000 CDC growth charts for the United States, a revision of the National Center for Health Statistics/World Health Organization (NCHS/WHO) growth charts, were released in 2002 to replace the NCHS/WHO charts. We evaluated the differences between the CDC growth charts and the Saudi 2005 reference to determine the implications of using the 2000 CDC growth charts in Saudi children and adolescents. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The Saudi reference was based on a cross-sectional representative sample of the Saudi population of healthy children and adolescents from birth to 19 years of age. Measurements of the length/ stature, weight and head circumference were performed according to expert recommendations. The CDC charts from birth to 20 years were based on a cross-sectional representative national sample from five sources collected between 1963 and 1994. The data from the CDC study including the 3rd, 5th, 50th, 95th, and 97th percentiles were plotted against the corresponding percentiles on the Saudi charts for the weight for age, height for age, weight for height for children from 0 to 36 months and weight for age, stature for age and body mass index for children 2 to 19 years of age. RESUlTS: There were major differences between the two growth charts. The main findings were the upward shift of the lower percentiles of the CDC curves and the overlap or downward shift of the upper percentiles, especially for weight, weight for height, and BMI. CONClUSIONS: The use of the 2000 CDC growth charts for Saudi children and adolescents increases the prevalence of undernutrition, stunting, and wasting, potentially leading to unnecessary referrals, investigations and parental anxiety. The increased prevalence of overweight and obesity is alarming and needs further investigation.

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