Height, weight, and lines of arrested growth in young Guatemalan children

A cross-sectional study of height, weight and skeletal maturity as judged from radiographs of hand and wrist, of 1,412 children under seven years of age (694 boys and 718 girls) living in rural Guatemala was performed. Height and weight were compared to standards prepared by the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP). Skeletal age was assessed by the Tanner-Whitehouse and the Greulich and Pyle methods. All x-rays were read by the senior author. The children surveyed were significantly shorter and lighter than well noruished Guatemalan children. Differences were evident by age six months and at a maximum by age five years. Both methods showed skeletal age to lag behind chronological age so that the Guatemalan rural children mature at slower rates than either the British children or the Ohio, U.S.A., children, from whom the two sets of standards were developed. Children of both sexes with radio-opaque transverse lines at the metaphysis showed a consistent tendency to be shorter than children without such lines. Boys but not girls showed similar trends for weight. In general, the data are consistent with the view that the physical development in boys is more severely retarded by an adverse environment than that of girls.     

Ethnic and secular influences on the size and maturity of seven year old children living in Guatemala City

Three groups of children, those of European parentage, those of Guatemalan parentage, and those of mixed European-Guatemalan parentage were measured for height, weight, and skeletal maturity. The children were born between 1945 and 1965, they were all of high socioeconomic status, and they all attended the same private school in Guatemala City. At 7 years, the boys of the European group were significantly taller than boys of the Guatemalan group. European and mixed European-Guatemalan girls were significantly taller than Guatemalan girls. These results are maturity independent. The influence of skeletal age was removed statistically by analysis of covariance. Girls of the mixed group were significantly heavier than girls of European and Guatemalan groups. Mixed group girls also had more significantly advanced skeletal ages than European girls. When the patterns of size and maturity status are analyzed by sex, there is evidence for a relatively greater environmental influence on the boys and a relatively greater genetic influence on the girls. Dividing the data into two birth year cohorts, 1945 to 1955, and 1956 to 1965, does not provide evidence for secular trends in growth or maturation. These results are similar to those from studies in developed nations that report an end to the secular trend for the “well off” population of those countries.     

On the skeletal maturation of Japanese-American White hybrids.

The skeletal maturation of Japanese-American White hybrids is discussed in relation to that of Japanese and Whites. Assessment of skeletal maturation was made on 323 radiographs of 57 boys and 151 of 33 girls studied semi-longitudinally from 3 to 18 years on the basis of the Tanner-Whitehouse method (62). The skeletal maturity scores show a tendency for a greater advance in childhood for the Whites than for the hybrids and the Japanese. However, the preadolescent spurt of skeletal maturity occurs earlier in the Japanese and the hybrids than in the Whites, and the hybrids show the intermediate skeletal maturity scores between those of the Japanese and the Whites at and after adolescence.     

The Relationship of Rapid Weight Gain in Infancy to Obesity and Skeletal Maturity in Childhood

Objective: Children with birth weight appropriate for gestational age (AGA) who also demonstrate rapid weight gain in infancy have a greater risk of being overweight or obese during childhood. A concurrent advancement in skeletal maturity would account for their greater size and would, therefore, not necessarily pose a threat of greater risk during adolescence and early adulthood. This study aims to determine whether children with rapid weight gain during infancy have advanced skeletal maturity during childhood. Research Methods and Procedures: One hundred and ninety‐three African children (boys = 108; girls = 85) of normal birth weight and gestational age were assessed from birth to 9 years. Body composition was assessed at 9 years of age by whole‐body DXA, and skeletal maturity was assessed using the Tanner‐Whitehouse II technique. Rapid weight gain in infancy was defined as a +0.67 change in weight‐for‐age Z‐score between birth and 2 years. Results: Rapid weight gain was experienced by over 20% of the sample. Children with rapid weight gain were significantly lighter at birth and significantly taller, heavier, and fatter throughout childhood. Chronological age and Tanner‐Whitehouse II technique skeletal ages at 9 years were not significantly different between groups or between sexes within groups. Discussion: Because AGA children with rapid weight gain have a greater risk of overweight and obesity but are not advanced in skeletal maturity, later adolescent adjustments toward average weight and fatness values are unlikely. The identification and monitoring of such children is of importance in reducing their risk of morbidity.     

Body height,weight, and skeletal maturation in Hottentot (Khoikhoi) children

Growth of body height and weight and skeletal maturation are discussed, based on 49 male and 61 female Hottentot children aged 3 to 17 years from Warmbad, Namibia (South West Africa) and 124 boys and 113 girls aged 1 to 21 years of related populations, the Rehoboth Basters of Namibia and Cape Coloreds from Cape Town, South Africa. The related populations are taller and heavier than the Hottentots, and have almost the same body height as American blacks and whites at least after the age of 18 years. In the Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters, the mean TW2 skeletal age is always less than the British standard by one or two years in both sexes. In general, the Rehoboth Basters have a skeletal age that is intermediate between Hottentot and British children. In both Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters, the increase in body height shows a linear relation to the skeletal age, and the regression curves are almost parallel in both sexes. The differences in body height and weight between the Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters become greater after the skeletal ages of 15 years for boys and 13 years for girls.     

Do American born Japanese children still grow faster than native Japanese?

Growth patterns of Japanese schoolchildren in Hawaii, composed of 2,954 boys and 3,213 girls aged between 11 and 17, were compared with those comparable groups of Japanese schoolchildren in Japan based on the data published by the Japanese Ministry of Education. Growth characteristics studied were height, weight, and relative weight index, weight/(height). The Hawaii-Japanese boys were taller at early ages but the difference disappeared by age 16. Native Japanese girls were shorter than Hawaii-Japanese until age 13, but they overtook the latter by age 14, exceeding them in height after age 15. A similar pattern was found in weights of girls but the Hawaii-Japanese boys remained consistently heavier by 5.0 to 9.0 kg than native Japanese. The relative weight measure indicated that the Hawaii boys were more "obese" than native Japanese boys for the growth period studied; whereas the same tendency was maintained until age 15 in girls. These observations indicate a marked degree of convergence of the patterns of physical growth of the two populations, whose differences were unmistakably in favor of American born children in earlier studies. It is concluded that the convergence is due largely to the improved environmental conditions in Japan in recent years.     

Fatness and skeletal maturity of Belgian boys 12 through 17 years of age

Relationships between fatness and skeletal maturity are considered in a nationwide sample of 14,259 Belgian boys 12 through 17 years of age (The Leuven Growth Study of Belgian Boys). Absolute fatness was estimated from four skinfolds using the Drinkwater and Ross technique and from the sum of four skinfolds, and was related to skeletal maturity assessed by the Tanner-Whitehouse method (I and II). In addition, comparisons were made between the fattest 5% and leanest 5% of the boys at each age level. Correlations between the indices of fatness and skeletal age and relative skeletal age (the difference between skeletal and chronological ages) are positive and generally low, ranging from 0.12 to 0.39. They tend to decrease with age from 12 to 17 years. Comparisons between the extreme groups indicate that the leanest boys are more delayed in skeletal maturity, by about 0.8 years, than the fattest boys are advanced, by about 0.5 years. Stature data for the same boys are consistent with the skeletal maturity data and thus suggest that the size differences between the extreme groups are due in part to maturity differences. Over the age span 12 through 20 years, the leanest boys are reduced in stature by about – 1.2 standard deviations, while the fattest boys are larger in stature by about +0.6 standard deviation units. The size differences, however, persist after skeletal maturity is attained so that there may be a specific role for fatness in influencing statural growth.     

Prepubertal Asians have less limb skeletal muscle.

Skeletal muscle mass in prepubertal Asian children has not been examined previously. The aims of this study were to test the hypotheses that 1) prepubertal Asians have less appendicular skeletal muscle (ASM) mass compared with African-Americans and Caucasians, and 2) ASM is less in prepubertal Asian girls compared with Asian boys. ASM was estimated by using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in healthy prepubertal girls (n = 170) and boys (n = 166). The results showed that, after adjusting for age, height, and body weight, 1) Asian girls and boys had less amounts of ASM than African-Americans (P < 0.001); 2) Asian girls had less amounts of ASM than Caucasian girls (P = 0.004); 3) there was a trend towards less ASM in Asian compared with Caucasian boys (P = 0.07); 4) and Asian girls had significantly less ASM than Asian boys (P < 0.001). This study indicates that skeletal muscle mass as a fraction of body weight is smaller in Asian compared with African-American and Caucasian children.     

Assessment of Dental Age of Children Aged 3.5 to 16.9 Years Using Demirjian’s Method: A Meta-Analysis Based on 26 Studies

Background A method for assessing dental maturity in different populations was first developed in 1973 by Demirjian and has been widely used and accepted since then. While the accuracy for evaluating dental age using Demirjian’s method compared to children’s chronological age has been extensively studied in recent years, the results currently available remain controversial and ambiguous. Methods A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CNKI and CBM databases was conducted to identify all eligible studies published before July 12th, 2013. Weighted mean difference (WMD) with corresponding 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was used to evaluate the applicability of Demirjian’s method for estimating chronological age in children. Results: A meta-analysis was conducted on 26 studies with a total of 11,499 children (5,301 boys and 6,198 girls) aged 3.5 to 16.9 years. Overall, we found that Demirjian’s method overestimated dental age by 0.35 (4.2 months) and 0.39 (4.68 months) years in males and females, respectively. A subgroup analysis by age revealed that boys and girls between the ages of 5 to 14 were given a dental age estimate that was significantly more advanced than their chronological age. Differences between underestimated dental ages and actual chronological ages were lower for male and female 15- and 16-year-old subgroups, though a significant difference was found in the 16-year-old subgroup. Conclusions Demirjian’s method’s overestimation of actual chronological tooth age reveals the need for population-specific standards to better estimate the rate of human dental maturation.     

The peak oxygen uptake of British children with reference to age, sex and sexual maturity

The purposes of this study were to provide baseline data on the peak oxygen consumption (VO2) of British children, aged 11-16 years and to examine the peak VO2 of children in relation to their pubertal stage of development. The peak VO2 of 226 boys and 194 girls was determined during either treadmill running or cycle ergometry. The sexual maturity of 320 of the children was estimated using Tanner's indices. Peak VO2 increased with chronological age in both sexes and from about the age of 12 years boys exhibited significantly higher (P less than 0.05) values than girls. Boys' peak VO2 in relation to body mass was consistent over the age range studied and was superior (P less than 0.05) to girls' values at all ages. It appears that mass-related peak VO2 is independent of sexual maturity in both sexes. The more mature boys demonstrated a significantly higher (P less than 0.05) peak VO2 (1.min-1) than the less mature boys on both ergometers. The more mature girls demonstrated significantly higher (P less than 0.05) peak VO2 (1.min-1) than the less mature girls only on the cycle ergometer. On both ergometers the differences between the peak VO2 of the girls and boys were more pronounced in the mature children whether expressed in relation to body mass or not. Comparison of the results with earlier data drawn from smaller samples failed to provide evidence to suggest that British children's peak VO2 has declined in recent years. No study with which to compare our maturity peak VO2 data appears to be available.     

Skeletal maturity and bone growth in twins

Heritability of skeletal maturity and bone growth is discussed on the basis of intrapair resemblances (correlation coefficients) and differences (revised percent deviations) in mono- and dizygotic twins and random pairs of unrelated children. A series of 1072 radiographs of the right hand and wrist in 63 male and 70 female pairs of monozygotic twins, and 25 male and 21 female pairs of dizygotic twins aged 12 to 18 years studied longitudinally in Tokyo were used. Skeletal maturity based on the TW2 age suggests higher heritability than bone growth based on the second metacarpal dimensions. In the latter, length has higher heritability than width and cortical thickness. A dosage effect seems to be suggested in width and some indices in the second metacarpal, but is not confirmed in skeletal maturation.     

Gender-specific growth patterns for stature,sitting height and limbs length in Croatian children and youth (3 to 18 years of age)

In a cross-sectional study of growth, 5,155 children (2,591 females, 2,564 males) from the town of Zagreb (Croatia) were measured. Four traits of linear dimensionality (stature, sitting height, arm and leg lengths) were studied in the age span of 3 to 18 years. A significant average annual increase of all four anthropometric parameters were observed up to 14 and 15 years of age in girls and 16 years of age in boys, showing that girls had a shorter growing period. In the prepubertal period until 9 years of age, gender differences were negligible. At the age of 10, boys were overgrown by girls in all parameters due to the earlier onset of puberty in girls. The growth gains for girls, when compared with those for boys, show a different pattern across variables. The female growth advantage remained in a two years period for the limbs length, but in a three year period for stature and the longest, for 4 years, for sitting height. The male predominance in size had an onset at the age of 13 for the limbs and in the age of 14 for stature and sitting height. The patterns of sexual dimorphism in stature and sitting height during growing years are similar to those observed in other populations of Europe. Growth of Croatian children and youth is very similar to that of the tallest European populations.     

BMI in Japanese children since 1948: no evidence of a major rise in the prevalence of obesity in Japan

The dramatic world-wide trend towards increasing body weight seems to be less obvious in the Japanese population. The aim of this study is to extract potentially useful information regarding childhood and adolescence obesity in Japan from series of mean height and mean body mass index between 1948 and 2003. Mean values for height and weight of Japanese boys and girls aged 5+ to 17+ years were obtained from the "Reports on School Health Survey", Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, comprising approximately 4.5% of all children and adolescents in Japan between 1948 and 2003. The data were fitted by the Preece and Baines model (Preece & Baines 1978) in order to obtain estimates of the age of peak height velocity (APHV) and final height. Isochrones for height and BMI were calculated based upon measurements that were obtained at the same chronological ages at different historic epochs. The APHV as estimated by Preece & Baines (1978) has decreased from 14.07 to 12.03 years in Japanese boys, and from 11.80 to 9.92 years in Japanese girls, indicating that the tempo of child and adolescent maturation (maturational tempo) has accelerated. Body height increased by 10.1 cm in near adult 17+ year old Japanese males and by 5.7 cm in 17+ year old Japanese females since 1948. Due to the acceleration and the earlier attainment of adult stature, isochrones for height tend to diverge for prepubertal ages and to converge for postpubertal ages. The same is true for weight. Body weight has increased by 11.8 kg in near adult males, and by 4.4 kg in near adult females. Also BMI has increased since 1948. But in contrast to height and weight, the rise in BMI only reflects the acceleration of the maturational tempo. Tempo-conditioned isochrones for BMI are almost horizontal, and even tended to temporarily decrease during the 60ies and the 70's. The BMI of Japanese children and adolescents dramatically contrasts the recent and historic BMI changes in the Western populations. The present study provides no evidence of any major rise in the prevalence of obesity in Japan as expressed by mean BMI for age and time of birth, and suggests that Japanese children and adolescents may be more resistant against those environmental factors that have caused obesity in the affluent Western societies.     

Single versus serial assessment of skeletal age: Either,both or neither?

Assessments of skeletal age are a valuable adjunct to the clinical evaluation of physical maturity but are more meaningful when considered in relation to chronological age, especially over time, than as separate entities. Data on 51 girls from the Child Research Council study series gave a correlation coefficient of 0.51 between skeletal age (SA) at menarche and chronological age (CA) at menarche — a value in close agreement with data reported from other studies. With a range in SA of 11.58 to 14.89 years, these data were examined further for changes in SA related to timing of adolescence. SA was greater than CA in each of the nine girls whose menarche occurred between 10.5 and 12 years of age. SA was equal to CA in one girl, greater than CA in eight girls and less than CA in 11 girls with menarche between 12.15 and 13.4 years. Of the 22 girls with menarche after 13.5 years, one had SA = CA at 14.89 years and the other 21 all had SA less than CA. An r of 0.84 was calculated between the values of CA minus SA at menarche and CA at menarche. Similar relationships were found between SA and CA at age of maximum increment in growth in height for these girls and for 53 boys in the study series. Longitudinal data for height, weight and SA for four boys and five girls demonstrate the problems of prediction of the timing of adolescence and of adult size from skeletal ages in the childhood years.     

Growth and somatotype patterns of manus children,territory of Papua and New Guinea: Application of a modified somatotype method to the study of growth patterns

The growth and somatotype patterns of Manus children, Territory of Papua and New Guinea, reflected in anthropometric measurements and somatotype photographs, is reported for 438 children, ranging from 15 months of age to maturity. Somatotype distributions and individual somatotype photographs indicate little difference between boys and girls from age 1 to 4 years; between age 5 and 9 years boys shift toward higher second component ratings; between age 10 and 18 years boys shift toward higher second and third component ratings, while girls shift toward higher first and third component ratings. Four sample somatotype photographs are representative of the population at age 10 and 14 years, and show age and sex characters easily noted visually. Comparison of height, weight and subscapula skinfold values show that the Manus children resemble the Kaiapit and Bundi children of the New Guinea highlands populations reported by Malcolm in the form of their growth curves but not in growth rates. Manus children grow more slowly than the British, but faster than the Kaiapit and Bundi children. While low skinfold values and height/weight ratios derived from means for height and weight suggest somatotypic similarity of the Manus, Kaiapit and Bundi populations, somatotype photographs are needed for confirmation. Lacking historical information and genetic evidence, we can speculare that diet, nutrition, climate and perhaps physical activity are factors which influence the growth patterns of these populations. The protein intake derived from fish and other seafood may be an important factor in the relatively fast growth and earlier maturation of the Manus. Malcolm thinks that low protein intake plays an important role with the Kaiapit and Bundi, but does not rule out survival value of slow growth and short stature.     

Growth attainments of well-off chandigarh children: A mixed longitudinal study

Distance and velocity pattern of growth for body weight and height of 134 well-off Chandigarh boys aged 9–17 years, and 109 girls aged 9 to 16 years were studied following a mixedlongitudinal growth study design. For both body weight and height pattern-wise, Chandigarh boys showed close similarity with their American counterparts up to about 13 years of age, while girls did so till 12 years. Where after, Chandigarh children remained lighter and shorter than those of American origin and this differential may be explained on racial grounds rather than nutritional ones since all children included in this study remained free from dietary and other health related constraints. Marginally, higher height growth attainments noticed in Chandigarh children in contrast to their other Indian counterparts during initial years of adolescence shows that Chandigarh children are in process of expressing their genetic growth potential to its full which has not yet been fully achieved. The rate (velocity) of weight and height growth in Chandigarh children remained substatially lower than their sex-matched British counterparts throught the period of study. PHV in boys measured 6.4 cm/yr. and 5.4 cm/yr. in girls. It was attained at the age of 11.5 years in girls and 12.5 years in boys. Peak weight velocity in boys averaged 3.7 kg/yr., while it measured 4.6 kg/yr. in girls. In girls (11.5 yr.), PWV too was attained earlier than boys (13.5 yr.) by two years. The shorter height and lighter weight growth attainments noticed in Chandigarh children in contrast to their Western counterparts may be attributed to slower and lesser magnitude peak growth velocities recorded in Chandigarh children. The use of values presented has been recommended to monitor and assess growth attainments of Indian children residing in the Union Territory of Chandigarh.     

Predicting the timing of maturational spurts in skeletal age

Measures of maturity provide windows into the timing and tempo of childhood growth and maturation. Delayed maturation in a single child, or systemically in a population, can result from either genetic or environmental factors. In terms of the skeleton, delayed maturation may result in short stature or indicate another underlying issue. Thus, prediction of the timing of a maturational spurt is often desirable in order to determine the likelihood that a child will catch up to their chronological age peers. Serial data from the Fels Longitudinal Study were used to predict future skeletal age conditional on current skeletal age and to predict the timing of maturational spurts. For children who were delayed relative to their chronological age peers, the likelihood of catch‐up maturation increased through the average age of onset of puberty and decreased prior to the average age of peak height velocity. For boys, the probability of an imminent maturational spurt was higher for those who were less mature. For girls aged 11 to 13 years, however, this probability was higher for those who were more mature, potentially indicating the presence of a skeletal maturation plateau between multiple spurts. The prediction model, available on the web, is most relevant to children of European ancestry living in the Midwestern US. Our model may also provide insight into the tempo of maturation for children in other populations, but must be applied with caution if those populations are known to have high burdens of environmental stressors not typical of the Midwestern US. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Principal component analysis of the elongation of metacarpal and phalangeal bones

A hypothesis that the first principal component computed from the covariance matrix of logarithms reflected the specific growth rates of corresponding bones was taken to analyze the growth pattern of the tubular bones of the hand. The total length of 19 tubular bones of the right hand was measured on standardized radiographs of Japanese children (33 boys, 33 girls). Metacarpals in boys and bones of the fifth digit in girls showed higher growth coefficients. The second, third and fourth proximal, and the third and fourth middle phalanges showed lower coefficients for both sexes. These observations suggest the signs of proximal row dominance in boys and of fifth ray dominance in girls in the elongation of the hand bones. A marked sex difference was found in the fifth middle phalanx. In girls the growth coefficients of this bone was much larger than any other bones, but was moderate in boys.     

Patterns of Growth Associated With the Timing of Adiposity Rebound

This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of age of adiposity rebound (AR) on measures of fat mass between ages 7 and 11 years, maturity, and adiposity in 458 children from a birth cohort studied to age 26 years. Patterns of growth between ages 3 and 26 years and changes in fat mass index between 7 and 11 years in groups with early (<5.5 years for boys and <5 years for girls), average (between 5.5 and 7.5 years for boys and between 5 and 7 years for girls), and late AR (≥7.5 years for boys and ≥7 years for girls) are described. The mean z‐scores for BMI, height, and weight increased between age 3 years and adolescence in the early‐rebound group and decreased in the late‐rebound group. The differences were maintained until adulthood for BMI and weight. Disproportionately high increases in fat mass index during growth (7–11 years), more advanced bone age in boys at age 7 years, and earlier menarche in girls were evident in the early‐rebound group. The relative risks at 26 years of being overweight (BMI 25–29.9 kg/m²) and obese (BMI ≥30 kg/m²) were 2.70 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.55, 4.66) and 5.91 (95% CI: 3.03, 11.55) respectively, using the average group as the reference. The corresponding relative risks for adult waist girths exceeding international cut points were 2.12 (95% CI: 1.09, 4.13) and 3.32 (95% CI: 1.46, 7.54). Thus, early rebound is associated with increased depositions of fat in middle childhood, and risks associated with early rebound persist at least until early adulthood.