Height Weight Percentile Charts for Children Ages 0-20
Author: Ian C. Langtree - Writer/Editor for Disabled World (DW)
Published: 22 Mar 2010 - Updated: 17 Jan 2026
Publication Type: Charts, Graphs, Tables
Contents: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates - Related Publications
Synopsis: This information serves as a practical reference guide for parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers monitoring child development from birth through age 20. Drawing from CDC growth standards, it explains how percentile measurements help track whether children are developing within normal ranges compared to their peers. The resource addresses a significant 2006 update by the World Health Organization that corrected outdated 1977 measurements, which had been based solely on formula-fed, middle-class white American infants and inadvertently contributed to childhood obesity rates. For families raising children with disabilities or health conditions that affect growth patterns, understanding these percentile charts becomes particularly valuable when working with medical teams to distinguish between typical variation and concerning developmental trends. The distinction between infant charts (0-3 years measuring length, weight, and head circumference) and childhood charts (2-20 years tracking height, weight, and BMI) gives parents age-appropriate benchmarks while recognizing that genetics, nutrition, physical activity, and medical conditions all influence individual growth trajectories.
Introduction
Using a percentile chart doctors can track children's growth rate as well as monitor how a child is growing in relation to other children.
Main Content
Height and weight percentiles are determined by growth charts and body mass index charts to compare a child's measurements with those of other children in the same age group.
Growth percentile charts vary for boys and girls as their growth rates and patterns differ. For either girls or boys there are two sets of percentile charts:
- A Height and Weight Percentile Chart for infants ages 0 to 3 years. (Up until babies are 36 months old, doctors will measure weight, length, as well as head circumference)
- A Height and Weight Percentile Chart for children ages from 2 to 20 years old. (Doctors will measure weight, height, and body mass index (BMI))
The 50th percentile represents the median, or average, height or weight for each age group, so that 50% of children will be above this point and 50% will be below it.
Children with a low weight to height percentile generally have a weight that is below the 3rd or 5th percentile for their age group - as well as a declining growth velocity (not gaining weight as expected) and/or a shift downward in their growth percentiles, crossing two or more percentiles on their growth charts.
Recent studies have shown that current growth charts for infants under 24 months overstate the expected weight of babies and lead to potentially obese children. This is due to the original charts being produced as far back as 1977, and were based on samples of middle class white American babies on high protein bottle fed diets at the time. In 2006 The World Health Organization altered the target height to weight percentile measurements to better represent healthier weight measurements. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) created the growth charts that are most commonly used in the United States of America.
View an approximate Height to Weight Chart for Adults and a guide to Babies to Teenagers Average Height to Weight Chart.
NOTE: There is a wide range of healthy shapes and sizes among children. While growth charts are an important tool for monitoring children's development, they are just one of several tools used to ensure children grow and develop normally as they mature. Genetics, gender, nutrition, physical activity, health problems, environment, and hormones can, and do, influence a child's height to weight ratio.
Insights, Analysis, and Developments
Editorial Note: While percentile charts remain an essential tool in pediatric care, they represent population averages rather than individual destinies. A child tracking along the 10th percentile who is healthy, active, and thriving may simply reflect their genetic blueprint, just as naturally as another child consistently charting at the 90th percentile. The real clinical value emerges not from a single data point, but from patterns over time - sudden drops across multiple percentiles or plateaus in expected growth warrant investigation, while steady tracking along any percentile typically signals appropriate development. For parents of children with chronic conditions, genetic syndromes, or disabilities, specialized growth charts may offer more relevant comparisons than standard CDC curves, making partnership with knowledgeable healthcare providers essential for interpreting what the numbers truly mean for your child's unique situation.
Author Credentials: Ian is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Disabled World, a leading resource for news and information on disability issues. With a global perspective shaped by years of travel and lived experience, Ian is a committed proponent of the Social Model of Disability-a transformative framework developed by disabled activists in the 1970s that emphasizes dismantling societal barriers rather than focusing solely on individual impairments. His work reflects a deep commitment to disability rights, accessibility, and social inclusion. To learn more about Ian's background, expertise, and accomplishments, visit his full biography.