An anthropometric study of the growth in schoolchildren aged 5 to 14 years, belonging to the Villa Cubas district of the capital of the province of Catamarca, has been carried out. Villa Cubas presents average/low socioeconomic characteristics and is situated in a peripheral sector to the Center of the Capital. Male and female students have been evaluated. The measurements were turned to "Z" scores.

The aims of this work were:

1) To determinate the state of growth in comparison with the national reference standards and 2) To analyze the competence of the use of such standards in the clinical and nutrition assesment in the province of Catamarca. The results showed that the body weight and height had no difference with the standards, while the siting presented higher values than the standards. The results are interpreted as a consequence of the food deficit that affected the height and the inferior height part. The standards of reference are considered to be out-of-date and inappropriate for the clinic assessment in the province of Catamarca, inasmuch as they do not show the changes that have taken place in the population in the last 20 years.