FUNCTIONAL CONSEQUENCES FROM VARYING PATTERNS OF GROWTH AND MATURATION DURING ADOLESCENCE

Measurement of the growth of children among different populations has been important in assessing health and nutritional status. It is also useful in predicting functional consequences and long-term outcomes in the adult population. Childhood and adolescent growth patterns have been related to life expectancy as well as to the development of specific diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer (breast, ovary, prostate and pancreas). Childhood and adolescent growth has also been indirectly related to adult obesity. While these indirect observations do not suggest strategies for clinical intervention during childhood, they provide a framework for considerations of the influence of adolescent growth and maturation on the risk of chronic diseases, and for the application of anthropometry to research on diet and chronic disease.