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PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 4 April 2003, pp. 815-821

Percent Body Fat at Age 5 Predicts Earlier Pubertal Development Among Girls at Age 9

Kirsten Krahnstoever Davison, PhD^*, Elizabeth J. Susman, PhD and Leann Lipps Birch, PhD^*

^* Department of Human Development and Family Studies
Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania

--> Objective. This study examines the causal direction of the relationship between weight status and pubertal timing in girls using a longitudinal sample of 183 white girls followed from ages 5 to 9.

Methods. Girls’ weight status (body mass index percentile, percent body fat, waist circumference) was assessed when they were 5, 7, and 9 years old, and their pubertal development was assessed when they were 9 years old (breast development, Estradiol, Pubertal Development Scale). Information from all measures of pubertal development at 9 years was combined to identify girls exhibiting earlier (N = 44) and later (N = 136) pubertal development relative to the sample. Girls’ weight status at each age (5, 7, and 9 years old) and change in weight status across the ages of 5 to 9 years were used to predict their pubertal timing at 9 years of age.

Results. Girls with higher percent body fat at 5 years, and girls with higher percent body fat, higher BMI percentile, or larger waist circumference at 7 years, were more likely to be classified with earlier pubertal development at 9 years. In addition, girls showing larger increases in percent body fat from 5 to 9 years of age, and larger increases in waist circumference from 7 to 9 years of age, were more likely to exhibit earlier pubertal development at 9 years. Results were still present after controlling for accelerated growth.

Conclusions. Girls with higher weight status in early childhood were more likely to exhibit earlier pubertal development relative to peers at 9 years, indicating that weight status preceded pubertal timing in girls.

Key Words: puberty • pubertal timing • girls • weight status • body fat • body mass index • waist circumference • longitudinal study

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index • PDS, Pubertal Development Scale • CI, confidence interval • OR, odds ratio

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Received for publication Aug 2, 2002; Accepted Oct 18, 2002.

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