Abstract
Background: A decline in the age at menarche was recently reported for US girls. Although it is possible that this recent drop stems from the concurrent increase in childhood obesity, few longitudinal studies of growth and development have been undertaken to specifically address the temporal relation between growth, adiposity, and the age at menarche. Objective: The objective was to simultaneously examine the effects of birth cohort (secular trend) and rate of maturation (age at menarche) on the timing and pattern of increases in body mass index (BMI) during adolescence in girls. Design: We applied mixed-effects polynomial models to serial BMI data, spanning from 6 y before menarche to 6 y after menarche, obtained from 211 girls enrolled in the Fels Longitudinal Study. We examined the effects of birth cohort (defined as girls born 1929-1946, 1947-1964, and 1965-1983) and age at menarche (defined as ≤11.9 y, 12.0-13.1 y, and ≥13.2 y) on the magnitude and velocity of BMI during adolescence. Results: BMI and BMI velocity in girls born after 1965 were significantly greater than those of girls of earlier birth cohorts, despite stability in the mean age at menarche. Although girls with early menarche tended to have significantly higher BMIs than did girls with average or later menarche, these differences did not emerge until after menarche. Conclusion: These data suggest that increases in relative weight are a consequence, rather than a determinant, of the age at menarche and that secular changes in BMI and in the mean age at menarche could be independent phenomena.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 441-446 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | American Journal of Clinical Nutrition |
| Volume | 80 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2004 |
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Keywords
- Adolescence
- Body composition
- Body mass index
- Cohort effect
- Female children
- Growth
- Longitudinal studies
- Menarche
- Sex maturation
- United States
Cite this
Fifty-year trends in serial body mass index during adolescence in girls : The Fels Longitudinal Study. / Demerath, Ellen W.; Li, Jianrong; Sun, Shumei S.; Chumlea, W. Cameron; Remsberg, Karen E.; Czerwinski, Stefan A.; Towne, Bradford; Siervogel, Roger M.
In: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 80, No. 2, 01.08.2004, p. 441-446.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Fifty-year trends in serial body mass index during adolescence in girls
T2 - The Fels Longitudinal Study
AU - Demerath, Ellen W.
AU - Li, Jianrong
AU - Sun, Shumei S.
AU - Chumlea, W. Cameron
AU - Remsberg, Karen E.
AU - Czerwinski, Stefan A.
AU - Towne, Bradford
AU - Siervogel, Roger M.
PY - 2004/8/1
Y1 - 2004/8/1
N2 - Background: A decline in the age at menarche was recently reported for US girls. Although it is possible that this recent drop stems from the concurrent increase in childhood obesity, few longitudinal studies of growth and development have been undertaken to specifically address the temporal relation between growth, adiposity, and the age at menarche. Objective: The objective was to simultaneously examine the effects of birth cohort (secular trend) and rate of maturation (age at menarche) on the timing and pattern of increases in body mass index (BMI) during adolescence in girls. Design: We applied mixed-effects polynomial models to serial BMI data, spanning from 6 y before menarche to 6 y after menarche, obtained from 211 girls enrolled in the Fels Longitudinal Study. We examined the effects of birth cohort (defined as girls born 1929-1946, 1947-1964, and 1965-1983) and age at menarche (defined as ≤11.9 y, 12.0-13.1 y, and ≥13.2 y) on the magnitude and velocity of BMI during adolescence. Results: BMI and BMI velocity in girls born after 1965 were significantly greater than those of girls of earlier birth cohorts, despite stability in the mean age at menarche. Although girls with early menarche tended to have significantly higher BMIs than did girls with average or later menarche, these differences did not emerge until after menarche. Conclusion: These data suggest that increases in relative weight are a consequence, rather than a determinant, of the age at menarche and that secular changes in BMI and in the mean age at menarche could be independent phenomena.
AB - Background: A decline in the age at menarche was recently reported for US girls. Although it is possible that this recent drop stems from the concurrent increase in childhood obesity, few longitudinal studies of growth and development have been undertaken to specifically address the temporal relation between growth, adiposity, and the age at menarche. Objective: The objective was to simultaneously examine the effects of birth cohort (secular trend) and rate of maturation (age at menarche) on the timing and pattern of increases in body mass index (BMI) during adolescence in girls. Design: We applied mixed-effects polynomial models to serial BMI data, spanning from 6 y before menarche to 6 y after menarche, obtained from 211 girls enrolled in the Fels Longitudinal Study. We examined the effects of birth cohort (defined as girls born 1929-1946, 1947-1964, and 1965-1983) and age at menarche (defined as ≤11.9 y, 12.0-13.1 y, and ≥13.2 y) on the magnitude and velocity of BMI during adolescence. Results: BMI and BMI velocity in girls born after 1965 were significantly greater than those of girls of earlier birth cohorts, despite stability in the mean age at menarche. Although girls with early menarche tended to have significantly higher BMIs than did girls with average or later menarche, these differences did not emerge until after menarche. Conclusion: These data suggest that increases in relative weight are a consequence, rather than a determinant, of the age at menarche and that secular changes in BMI and in the mean age at menarche could be independent phenomena.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Body composition
KW - Body mass index
KW - Cohort effect
KW - Female children
KW - Growth
KW - Longitudinal studies
KW - Menarche
KW - Sex maturation
KW - United States
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=4344674128&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=4344674128&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 15277168
AN - SCOPUS:4344674128
VL - 80
SP - 441
EP - 446
JO - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
JF - American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
SN - 0002-9165
IS - 2
ER -