The analysis, by University of Illinois at Chicago nutritional epidemiologist Dr. Youfa Wang, appears in the November issue of the journal Pediatrics.
Although previous studies have suggested that sexual maturity is associated with obesity in females, little was known about the relationship in boys until now. The finding of a reverse association between sexual maturity and obesity in boys sheds new light upon this issue, providing additional evidence for the influence of sexual maturity on fatness.
According to Wang, who is assistant professor of human nutrition at UIC, the gender differences observed in the association between sexual maturity and obesity are likely related to differences in biological development. In boys, for example, early developers were found to be significantly taller, but not heavier, than their average- or late-maturing counterparts. By comparison, early sexual maturity in girls was associated with both increased height and weight.
"This suggests that sexual maturity might have different biological influences on growth in weight and height in boys and girls," Wang said. "During the growth process in boys, more energy may be devoted toward height than to the development of fat tissue, while early-maturing girls are more likely to store extra energy intake as fat tissue."
The new study looked at childhood obesity by assessing body stature and early sexual maturation among 1,501 boys and 1,520 girls ages 8 to 14 who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 1994, conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Younger and older children from that study were not considered in Wang's analysis.
Wang classified the childr
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Contact: Nan Hoffman
nanhoff@uic.edu
312-355-2954
University of Illinois at Chicago
4-Nov-2002