Urinary urea was measured, under normal living conditions, in children aged 3-16 years, from Cimitile, a small town near Naples in Southern Italy. Urinary urea correlated with age, height, weight, body mass index and body surface area, and was independent from sex. Urinary urea also correlated with urinary creatinine, uric acid, oxalate, sodium and phosphate. Protein intake assessed from urea excretion was 2.66 +/- 0.66 g/kg at 3 years of age and 1.49 +/- 0.31 g/kg at 16 years, and exceeded Italian standards for recommended intake. Also, the height and weight of the children living in Cimitile, with few exceptions, were in excess of national reference standards.