Mirta Hermelo

The relationship of birthweight with height at 14 and with the growing process.

The association of birthweight with length at 12 mo and with height at different ages was assessed in a sample of 260 healthy adolescents (130 boys and 130 girls). The longitudinal study included measures on body weight and height at 4, 6, 12, and 14 yr of age. Birthweight is highly correlated with stature at 14 years, particularly in male adolescents. Longitudinal principal components analysis (LPCA) showed that it is also correlated with the growing process. There is also strong evidence that birthweight can be a good predictor of the onset of the pubertal maturation process.

Body Mass Index at Different Ages and Its Association With Height at Age 14 and With the Whole Growing Process

The relevance of the association of the body mass index (BMI) at 1,4,6, and 12 years of age with the growing process and its capacity for predicting height at age 14 was investigated in a sample of 354 adolescents (182 boys and 172 girls). Regression analysis showed that body bulk at various ages, as expressed by the BMI is closely related with the height attained at age 14, and longitudinal principal components analysis suggested that it is also associated with the whole growing process. The way in which BMI affects height could be related with the stage of sexual development, which seems to play an intermediate role in the pathway linking body bulk and height.