The onset and progression through the various stages of puberty are influenced by a number of factors (Fig. 2). In both animals and humans, the age of puberty appears to be related more to body weight than to chronologic age. Undernutrition and low body fat, or an altered ratio of lean mass to body fat, seem to delay the adolescent spurt and to retard the onset of menarche. According to Frisch, a minimum level of fatness (17% of body weight) is associated with menarche; however, a heavier minimum weight for height, representing an increased amount of body fat (22%), appears necessary for the onset and maintenance of regular menstrual cycles in girls over 16 years of age. This critical amount of body fat implies that a particular body composition, in addition to other environmental and psychosocial factors, is important in triggering and maintaining the pubertal process.
PMID 4053451 4053451 DOI 10.1097/00003081-198528030-00013 10.1097/00003081-198528030-00013 Baker et al. 1985, Baker 1985
Cite this article
Baker, E. R. (1985). Body weight and the initiation of puberty. Clinical obstetrics and gynecology, 28(3), 573-9. https://doi.org/10.1097/00003081-198528030-00013
Baker ER. Body weight and the initiation of puberty. Clinical obstetrics and gynecology. 1985;28(3):573-9. doi:10.1097/00003081-198528030-00013
Baker, E. R. "Body weight and the initiation of puberty." Clinical obstetrics and gynecology, vol. 28, no. 3, 1985, pp. 573-9.
Keywords
Adolescent Pregnancy, Adolescents, Adolescents, Female, Age Factors, Americas, Anthropometry--changes, Biology, Body Weight--changes, Central Nervous System--changes, Child Development, Demographic Factors, Developed Countries, Developing Countries, Diseases--side effects, Endocrine System--changes, Family Planning, Fertility, Growth--changes, Health, Hormones--changes, Measurement, Menarche--determinants, Menstrual Cycle--determinants, Menstruation--determinants, North America, Northern America, Nutrition Disorders--side effects, Nutrition--side effects, Ovulation--determinants, Physiology--changes, Population, Population Characteristics, Population Dynamics, Puberty, Reproduction--determinants, Reproductive Behavior, Reproductive Control Agents--changes, Research Methodology, United States, Youth
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