Height and Weight Chart for Indian Children by Age

Indian paediatricians use two sets of growth charts: the WHO Child Growth Standards for children under 5, and the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) 2015 charts for children aged 5 to 18. On the IAP charts, the average (50th centile) height of a 10-year-old Indian boy is 137.2 cm and weight 31.1 kg; for a 10-year-old girl it is 137.4 cm and 31.0 kg. Healthy children sit well above and below these averages.

The single number matters less than the pattern over time. A child who stays on roughly the same centile line year after year is usually growing well, even if that line is low. To see where your child sits right now, enter their age, sex, height and weight in our free growth percentile calculator for Indian children, then read on to understand what the result means.

Which growth chart should you use for an Indian child?

Under 5 years: WHO Child Growth Standards. The WHO published these in 2006 as standards that show how children under 5 should grow in healthy conditions, rather than how they happen to grow. According to the IAP's 2015 growth chart paper, both the IAP and the Government of India have adopted them for Indian children under 5.
5 to 18 years: IAP 2015 growth charts. The IAP Growth Chart Committee built these from data on 33,148 apparently healthy children from upper and middle socioeconomic groups in 14 Indian cities, collected in studies from the previous decade. Children with very high weight for their height were removed before the charts were drawn, so the weight lines are not pushed up by childhood obesity.

The IAP paper explains why country-specific charts matter after age 5. Indian children's heights are close to those of white European and American children until puberty, but the pubertal growth spurt is smaller, especially in girls. By 18, the gap is about 6 cm for girls and 3.5 cm for boys. Using American charts for an Indian teenager can make a perfectly healthy child look short.

Average height and weight for children under 5 (WHO)

These are the WHO median (50th centile) values, taken directly from the WHO length and height-for-age tables and weight-for-age tables.

Age	Boys height (cm)	Boys weight (kg)	Girls height (cm)	Girls weight (kg)
Birth	49.9	3.3	49.1	3.2
1 year	75.7	9.6	74.0	8.9
2 years	87.1	12.2	85.7	11.5
3 years	96.1	14.3	95.1	13.9
4 years	103.3	16.3	102.7	16.1
5 years	110.0	18.3	109.4	18.2

Birth and 1-year values are length, measured lying down. From age 2, the WHO tables switch to standing height, which reads slightly lower. At exactly 2 years, the median lying length is 87.8 cm for boys and 86.4 cm for girls.

Height and weight chart for Indian children aged 5 to 18 (IAP 2015)

These are the 50th centile values at each whole year from Tables II to V of the IAP 2015 paper (Khadilkar and colleagues, Indian Pediatrics, January 2015). The paper also gives values at half-years and for the 3rd, 10th, 25th, 75th, 90th and 97th centiles.

Age	Boys height (cm)	Boys weight (kg)	Girls height (cm)	Girls weight (kg)
5 years	108.9	17.1	107.5	16.4
6 years	114.8	19.3	113.5	18.7
7 years	120.7	21.9	119.4	21.2
8 years	126.4	24.8	125.4	24.0
9 years	131.8	27.9	131.4	27.2
10 years	137.2	31.1	137.4	31.0
11 years	142.7	34.7	143.3	35.4
12 years	148.4	39.0	148.4	39.8
13 years	154.3	43.3	152.2	43.6
14 years	159.9	48.2	154.7	46.4
15 years	164.5	53.1	156.1	48.4
16 years	168.1	56.8	156.9	49.7
17 years	171.0	59.5	157.4	50.9
18 years	173.6	61.6	157.8	52.0

You may notice the IAP values at age 5 are a little lower than the WHO values at age 5. The two charts were built in different ways for different purposes, so a small jump when your child moves from one to the other is expected and not a sign of a problem.

Average height for a 10-year-old in India

On the IAP 2015 charts, the median height at 10 years is 137.2 cm for boys and 137.4 cm for girls. The healthy range is wide: from the 3rd to the 97th centile, it runs from 123.6 to 151.4 cm for boys and 123.3 to 150.8 cm for girls. A 10-year-old anywhere in that band, growing steadily, is within the expected range.

How to read growth percentiles

A centile (or percentile) compares your child with 100 children of the same age and sex. If Farhan is on the 25th centile for height, about 25 of 100 boys his age are shorter and 75 are taller. The 50th centile is the middle, which is the "average" most parents ask about.

Percentiles are not marks. The American Academy of Pediatrics puts it plainly: coming in at the 10th percentile is no better or worse than coming in at the 90th.
The trend matters most. The AAP says it is the rate and trend of growth that is important, rather than any single number. One measurement tells you little; several over a year or two tell you a lot.
Height and weight usually travel together. A child on the 25th centile for height and the 30th for weight is in proportion. A big gap between the two is worth asking about.
Family size counts. Short parents often have children who are healthy and grow at a normal rate, but sit on lower lines.

Our growth percentile calculator works out the centile for you. Save each result with the date so you can see the trend at the next visit. For weight relative to height in children over 5, the IAP charts use BMI lines equivalent to adult values of 23 (overweight) and 27 (obesity), which suit Asian Indian children better than older cut-offs. Our BMI calculator for children can help you check this.

How to measure your child accurately at home

Height for children over 2: barefoot, standing straight against a flat wall with heels, bottom and shoulders touching it, looking straight ahead. Place a hardbound book flat on the head, mark the wall lightly, and measure from the floor with a steel tape.
Length for children under 2: this is best done lying down by your paediatrician's clinic with a measuring board, as home measurements of a wriggly baby are rarely accurate.
Weight: light clothes, no shoes, on the same scale, at the same time of day, ideally before a meal.
Write it down with the date. Measure every few months, not every week. Growth happens in spurts, and frequent measuring causes needless worry.

When to worry about your child's height or weight

Usually reassuring

Your child follows roughly the same centile line over time, even if it is a low one.
Height and weight centiles are close to each other.
Your child is active, eating reasonably and reaching milestones.

See your paediatrician

These are drawn from the AAP's guidance on short stature and its advice on growth charts.

Height is below the 3rd centile, the point at which doctors generally use the term short stature.
Your child is dropping down to lower centile lines over time.
Growth seems to be slowing, for example clothes and school uniforms still fit after a full year.
Puberty seems to be starting much later than expected.
There are other symptoms such as low energy or poor appetite.
Weight is rising across centile lines much faster than height, or falling.

Many short children are simply following their family's pattern, or are "late bloomers" whose growth and puberty start later but who catch up to a typical adult height. A doctor can tell these apart from medical causes by looking at the growth curve and parents' heights, and deciding whether further tests or a specialist referral are needed.

Growth, eating and therapy

Some children grow slowly because eating is genuinely hard for them: strong reactions to textures, a very short list of accepted foods, or difficulty chewing and swallowing. Families of autistic children and children with sensory differences often describe this. Our posts on when fussy eating is a sensory issue, nutritional gaps in selective eaters and iron deficiency and developmental delays go deeper.

Growth concerns always start with your paediatrician. Where eating is the barrier, Carely's occupational therapists and speech therapists in Bangalore work on feeding at home, at your own table, alongside your doctor's medical advice. Track your child's numbers with our growth percentile calculator and take the results to each visit.

Frequently asked questions

What is the average height for a 10-year-old in India?

On the IAP 2015 charts, the median height is 137.2 cm for a 10-year-old boy and 137.4 cm for a girl. Anywhere between the 3rd and 97th centile, roughly 123 to 151 cm, can be healthy if growth is steady.

What is a normal weight for a 5-year-old in India?

The WHO median weight at 5 years is 18.3 kg for boys and 18.2 kg for girls, and the IAP 2015 median at 5 years is 17.1 kg for boys and 16.4 kg for girls. A healthy range spreads well around these figures, so check your child's centile rather than comparing with one number.

Which percentile is normal for height?

There is no single normal centile. Most healthy children fall between the 3rd and 97th centile lines on IAP charts, and what matters most is that they stay roughly on their own line over time.

Should I use the IAP chart or the WHO chart?

Use WHO standards for children under 5 and IAP 2015 charts for ages 5 to 18, as the IAP recommends. Ask your paediatrician which chart is in your child's health record.

My child is on the 10th percentile. Is that bad?

Not by itself. Ten out of 100 healthy children are at or below that line. If your child has stayed around the 10th centile over time and is well, that is usually their normal pattern.

Sources

By The Carely Team