Weight-for-length for girls at 85 cm

At a length of 85 cm, the median weight for girls on the WHO Child Growth Standards is 11.2 kg (24 lb 12 oz): half of girls of this length weigh less and half more. The middle half of girls, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, falls between 10.6 and 11.9 kg, a spread of 1.35 kg. The outer lines of the chart, the 2nd and 98th percentiles, sit at 9.45 and 13.5 kg.

At 83 cm the median weight is 10.7 kg, so 2 cm of extra length goes with about 0.48 kg more weight at the median. At 87 cm it is 11.7 kg. 85 cm is close to the median height of girls at 2 years (85.0 cm). Weight-for-length compares a child's weight with other children of the same length, whatever their age, which is why it can read differently from weight-for-age for a long or a short baby.

For boys at a length of 85 cm the median is 11.5 kg, 0.28 kg more than for girls, which is why the charts are drawn separately by sex.

On the older CDC 2000 weight-for-length charts, which some clinics and websites still use before age 2, the median at a length of 85 cm is 11.7 kg. A girl exactly on the WHO median would read as about the 30th percentile there, one reason two charts can give different answers for the same weight.

Reading the table: a girl at a length of 85 cm who weighs 11.6 kg is at about the 65th percentile, meaning that out of 100 girls of that length, about 65 weigh less.