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We investigated the sex-specific risk of maternal smoking during pregnancy on the birth weight and the proportion of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) newborns in 888,632 (49.9%) of 1,815,318 singleton births (ca. 80% of all singleton births in Germany from 1995 to 1997) in whom data on maternal cigarette consumption were available. Newborns below the 10th percentile for weight and duration of pregnancy were classified SGA. Maternal smoking during pregnancy lowers the mean birth weight and increases the risk of SGA newborns. The negative effect depends on the daily number of cigarettes consumed, and is greater in girls than in boys. In non-smokers, 9.8% of the newborns were SGA, with a sex-ratio of females:males=1, but this percentage increased with increasing number of cigarettes consumed (p

World-wide obesity has risen to alarming levels. We present experimental support for a new and very challenging hypothesis linking obesity, voracity, and growth hormone (GH) deficiency, to the consumption of elevated amounts of the amino-acid glutamate (GLU). Supraphysiological doses of GLU are toxic for neuronal cells.Human data were obtained from 807,592 German conscripts born between 1974 and 1978, and from 1,432,368 women of the German birth statistics (deutsche Perinatalerhebung) 1995-1997. The effects of orally administered monosodium glutamate (MSG) were investigated in 30 pregnant Wistar rats and their offspring. Pregnant animals either received no extra MSG, or 2.5 g MSG, or 5 g MSG per day, up to the end of the weaning period. In all, 2.5 g, respectively 5 g, MSG accounted for some 10%, respectively 20%, of dry weight of the average daily food ration. After weaning, MSG feeding was continued in the offspring.Morbid obesity associates with short stature. Average stature of conscripts progressively declines when body mass index increases above 38 kg/m2. Also morbidly obese young women are shorter than average though to a lesser extent than conscripts. Oral administration of MSG to pregnant rats affects birth weight of the offspring. Maternal feeding with 5 g MSG per day results in severe birth weight reduction (P0.01). Weight increments remain subnormal when MSG feeding to the mothers is maintained during weaning (P0.01). GH serum levels are affected in animals that received MSG during prenatal life via maternal feeding. Animals that are kept on high MSG diet (5 g MSG per day) continue to show serum GH levels that are as low or even lower than those of MSG injected animals (P0.05), both at day 30 and at day 90 of life. Animals that were kept on medium MSG diet (2.5 g MSG per day) showed low serum GH levels at day 30 of life (P0.01), but seemed to partially recover before day 90. Almost identical results were observed in IGF-1 serum levels. Oral MSG resulted in dose dependent voracity. The animals fed 5 g MSG per day increased water uptake by threefold (P0.01), and food uptake by almost two-fold (P0.01). The influence of MSG is in general more marked in males than in females.GLU is a widely used nutritional substance that potentially exhibits significant neuronal toxicity. Voracity, and impaired GH secretion are the two major characteristics of parenterally administered GLU-induced neuronal damage. GLU maintains its toxicity in animals even when administered orally. Males appear to be more sensitive than females. The present study for the first time demonstrates, that a widely used nutritional monosubstance--the flavouring agent MSG--at concentrations that only slightly surpass those found in everyday human food, exhibits significant potential for damaging the hypothalamic regulation of appetite, and thereby determines the propensity of world-wide obesity. We suggest to reconsider the recommended daily allowances of amino acids and nutritional protein, and to abstain from the popular protein-rich diets, and particularly from adding the flavouring agents MSG.

The ancestors of modern Europeans arrived in Europe at least 40,000 years before present. Pre-glacial maximum Upper Palaeolithic males (before 16,000 BC) were tall and slim (mean height 179 cm, estimated average body weight 67 kg), while the females were comparably small and robust (mean height 158 cm, estimated average body weight 54 kg). Late Upper Palaeolithic males (8000-6600 BC) were of medium stature and robusticity (mean height 166 cm, estimated average body weight 62 kg). Stature further decreased to below 165 cm with estimated average body weight of 64 kg in Neolithic males of the Linear Band Pottery Culture, and to 150 cm with estimated average body weight of 49 kg in Neolithic females. The body stature of European males remained within the range of 165 to 170 cm up to the end of the 19th century.

Objectives: To investigate the impact of short-term growth measurements on predicting the individual growth response to GH treatment, and to elucidate the possible reasons for the limited accuracy of current growth prediction models for GH-treated children. Methods: Short-term growth measurements by knemometry and stadiometer in 99 short, GH-treated children (27 girls, 72 boys), aged 10.3 ± 2.3 years, from the Children’s University Hospital, Leipzig, Germany. Results: GH treatment significantly accelerated the mean height velocity (HV) from 4.3 ± 1.0 to 8.1 ± 1.8 cm/year during the first year of treatment, the average height standard deviation score (SDS) shifted by +0.52 SD. The variation in HV also increased, from S2 = 1.0 before to S2 = 3.4 cm2/year2 during treatment. Lower leg length (LLL) velocity accelerated from 1.6 ± 0.7 before treatment to 3.4 ± 1.0 cm/year during the first 8 weeks of treatment. Four coefficients of correlation appeared clinically meaningful: (1) LLL velocity vs. body HV during the first year of GH treatment (r = 0.87), indicating that GH acts simultaneously on leg and rump growth; (2) early (first 8 weeks) LLL velocity vs. 1-year body HV during treatment, with r = 0.61 (R2 = 0.38), indicating that 38% of the variation in HV during the first year of treatment is already predictable by an initial 8-week period of knemometry; (3) early (first 8 weeks) LLL velocity vs. 1-year LLL velocity during treatment, with r = 0.63 (R2 = 0.39), and (4) early (first 8 weeks) LLL velocity vs. later LLL velocity, up to the end of the first year, with r = 0.53 (R2 = 0.28) indicating that the early response on lower leg growth persists for at least 1 year of GH treatment. Conclusions: (1) Thirty-eight percent of the variation in HV during the first year of GH treatment is predictable by an initial 8-week period of knemometry. This parallels early changes in biochemical markers of bone turnover after GH treatment. (2) There is evidence for a baseline variability in HV both in healthy children and in children with growth disorders that make growth prediction difficult.

© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Objectives: Average adult height of a population is considered a biomarker of the quality of the health environment and economic conditions. The causal relationships between height and income inequality are not well understood. We analyze data from 169 countries for national average heights of men and women and national-level economic factors to test two hypotheses: (1) income inequality has a greater association with average adult height than does absolute income; and (2) neither income nor income inequality has an effect on sexual dimorphism in height. Methods: Average height data come from the NCD-RisC health risk factor collaboration. Economic indicators are derived from the World Bank data archive and include gross domestic product (GDP), Gross National Income per capita adjusted for personal purchasing power (GNI_PPP), and income equality assessed by the Gini coefficient calculated by the Wagstaff method. Results: Hypothesis 1 is supported. Greater income equality is most predictive of average height for both sexes. GNI_PPP explains a significant, but smaller, amount of the variation. National GDP has no association with height. Hypothesis 2 is rejected. With greater average adult height there is greater sexual dimorphism. Conclusions: Findings support a growing literature on the pernicious effects of inequality on growth in height and, by extension, on health. Gradients in height reflect gradients in social disadvantage. Inequality should be considered a pollutant that disempowers people from the resources needed for their own healthy growth and development and for the health and good growth of their children.

Background: Human populations differ in height. Recent evidence suggests that social networks play an important role in the regulation of adolescent growth and adult height. We further investigated the effect of physical connectedness on height. Material and methods: We considered Switzerland as a geographic network with 169 nodes (district capitals) and 335 edges (connecting roads) and studied effects of connectedness on height in Swiss conscript from 1884-1891, 1908-1910, and 2004-2009. We also created exponential-family random graph models to separate possible unspecific effects of geographic vicinity. Results: In 1884-1891, in 1908-1910, and in 2004-2009, 1st, 2nd and 3rd order neighboring districts significantly correlate in height (p

Auxology (Greek αυξω - I let grow) is the science of human growth and development. Significant public interest focuses on questions like: how does my child grow? How did our ancestors grow? How do other people around the world grow? Are there advantages to being tall and disadvantages to being short? Am I too fat? And many questions are related to the treatment of growth failure.

Screening is an important issue in medicine and is used to early identify unrecognised diseases in persons who are apparently in good health. Screening strongly relies on the concept of "normal values". Normal values are defined as values that are frequently observed in a population and usually range within certain statistical limits. Screening for obesity should start early as the prevalence of obesity consolidates already at early school age. Though widely practiced, measuring BMI is not the ultimate solution for detecting obesity. Children with high BMI may be "robust" in skeletal dimensions. Assessing skeletal robustness and in particularly assessing developmental tempo in adolescents are also important issues in health screening. Yet, in spite of the necessity of screening investigations, appropriate reference values are often missing. Meanwhile, new concepts of growth diagrams have been developed. Stage line diagrams are useful for tracking developmental processes over time. Functional data analyses have efficiently been used for analysing longitudinal growth in height and assessing the tempo of maturation. Convenient low-cost statistics have also been developed for generating synthetic national references.

Aim Growth is both a matter of amplitude and tempo. We aimed to develop references for body height, body weight and body mass index (BMI) with respect to tempo of maturity. Methods Data obtained from the German KiGGS study (2003–2006) on body height, body weight and presence or absence of the menarche were re-analysed in 3776 girls, aged 10–17 years. We developed smoothed centiles for BMI-, body-height- and body-weight-for-age using the LMS method for premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls. Results Body height, body weight and BMI differed significantly between premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls. On average, postmenarcheal girls aged 11–17 years were 5.3 cm taller and 9.7 kg heavier, and their BMI was 2.9 kg/m² higher than in premenarcheal girls of the same calendar age. Conclusion Adolescent BMI rises with calendar age and biological age. New reference charts for adolescent girls aged 10–18 years were generated to be inserted into the currently used references to avoid misclassifying underweight and overweight pubertal girls.

OBJECTIVE: A novel non-invasive technique termed microknemometry, which allows daily leg length measurement, was used to investigate the growth promoting effect of growth hormone (GH) on peripubertal rats. We compared the effect of different patterns of recombinant human (rh) GH administration to peripubertal male rats with the effect produced by two daily administrations of the same amount of rhGH to peripubertal female rats or adult male rats. Another group of peripubertal male rats was also submitted to a 3-day period of starvation, in order to study catch-up growth during refeeding and to determine whether this process could be stimulated by exogenous GH administration. RESULTS: GH treatment was unable to stimulate tibial growth or weight gain in peripubertal males, whereas a clear growth promoting effect was observed in female rats and also in adult male rats. Starvation caused a dramatic body weight loss, and a reduction in tibial growth rate. Peripubertal male rats gained body weight faster than unstarved animals during refeeding, although recovery was not complete after nine days. Tibial growth, however, was resumed at the same speed as in normally fed males. This means that no catch-up effect was observed after refeeding in animals either with or without GH treatment. CONCLUSIONS: During peripuberty, normal male rats grow at a maximal speed that cannot be further increased by exogenous GH treatment, whereas age-matched female rats or older males grow at a slower rate than peripubertal males. Thus, exogenous rhGH administration is capable of enhancing growth velocity.

Microknemometry, a novel non-invasive technique, allows the accurate measurements of the lower leg length in the conscious rat, not only daily but even in periods smaller than 24 hours. Its use revealed the presence of nonlinear growth increments (mini-growth spurts) with periods between 4 and 5 days, that presented a gradual decline in amplitude when the animals were getting older, and a maximal growth rate between 0600h and 0900h. A sexual dimorphic growth pattern could be established with females growing less and presenting spurts of lower amplitude and smaller duration than males. High doses of recombinant human Growth Hormone (rhGH) stimulated growth velocity in female rates, but did not show any effect on males. Neonatal Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) treatment reduced growth both in males and females. Growth hormone (GH) replacement therapy in MSG treated animals was capable of increasing growth velocity, from day 30 onwards. The recovery was partial in males and complete in females. In intact male rats growth blockade induced by fasting was not followed by a catch up effect after refeeding, although growth velocity tended to increase and a clear catch up effect on weight was detected. Male rats seemed to grow at a maximal speed over at least the first 60 days of life, that cannot be accelerated with GH treatment, whereas female rats did respond to exogenous GH.

To monitor growth, a novel noninvasive leg length measurement technique, called microknemometry, which allows daily observation of tibial growth rate, was used. The rat exhibits a striking sex-related difference in postpubertal growth. Exogenous GH administration results in a sexually dimorphic response, affecting growth in normal young female rats but not in males. Here we investigated how chronic GH deficiency affects male and female rat growth patterns. The degree of growth rate recovery was investigated after exogenous GH administration to chronically deficient males and females. The deficiency was induced by neonatal monosodium glutamate (MSG) treatment. Since the neonatal gonadal environment plays an important role in the dimorphic growth pattern, neonatal androgenization of female rats with testosterone or neonatal feminization of male rats by castration was performed and the growth pattern monitored. MSG treatment decreased pituitary GH content and plasma IGF I levels in both sexes, but caused a less marked reduction of female rat tibial growth and body weight gain than in males. Additionally, only MSG-treated males showed decreased pituitary LH content, so that the dimorphic action of MSG on the gonadal axis may contribute to the observed differences in growth rate. GH administration was able to increase leg length in all MSG-treated rats but was more effective in females, despite a similar restoration of plasma IGF I levels in both sexes. Although neonatal castration of male rats resulted in a reduction of tibial growth rate and body weight, and neonatal testosterone administration to female rats caused a slight increase in body weight, a complete modification of the gender-dependent growth pattern was not achieved, indicating that appropriate steroid environment is also needed in puberty and adulthood.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Recent evidence suggests clustering of human body height. We want to assess the consequences of connectedness in a spatial network on height clustering in an artificial society. SUBJECTS/METHODS We used an agent-based computer modelling technique (Monte Carlo simulation) and compared simulated height in a spatial network with characteristics of the observed geographic height distribution of three historic cohorts of Swiss military conscripts (conscripted in 1884-1891; 1908-1910; and 2004-2009). RESULTS Conscript height shows several characteristic features: (1) height distributions are overdispersed. (2) Conscripts from districts with direct inter-district road connections tend to be similar in height. (3) Clusters of tall and clusters of short stature districts vary over time. Autocorrelations in height between late 19th and early 21st century districts are low. (4) Mean district height depends on the number of connecting roads and on the number of conscripts per district. Using Monte Carlo simulation, we were able to generate these natural characteristics in an artificial society. Already 5% height information from directly connected districts is sufficient to simulate the characteristics of natural height distribution. Very similar observations in regular rectangular networks indicate that the characteristics of Swiss conscript height distributions do not so much result from the particular Swiss geography but rather appear to be general features of spatial networks. CONCLUSIONS Spatial connectedness can affect height clustering in an artificial society, similar to that seen in natural cohorts of military conscripts, and strengthen the concept of connectedness being involved in the regulation of human height.

SummaryRecently a new model of human growth has been presented suggesting alternating periods of stasis (mean 24·5 days in the case of weekly measurements) and short saltatory increments of body height between 5 and 25 mm that had been detected between subsequent weekly or semi-weekly height measurements, i.e. within single weekly or semi-weekly intervals. The present study was undertaken to re-investigate and, if possible, to confirm this model. Body height was measured by stadiometer in 32 healthy pre-school and school age children, at weekly or semi-weekly intervals for periods between 4 and 8 months. Though the authors found evidence for an accumulation of weekly and semi-weekly height differences that suggested periods of no growth (stasis), there was no evidence for saltatory increments either in the 850 weekly or in the 746 semi-weekly body height differences.

Child growth is characterised by increases in height, and increases in maturational status. Functional data analysis provides a tool to separate these two sources of variation (registration) and differentiates between the variation in maturational tempo (temporal, or “phase” variation) and the variation in height (amplitude variation). We extended this concept by combining Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the Maximum Likelihood Principle. Longitudinal data on height were obtained from two large growth studies from Lublin, Poland, and Zurich, Switzerland, with altogether 361 children. Variation in amplitude monotonically rises with age; variation in phase peaks during puberty. During mid-puberty, phase variation is large and explains up to 40 percent of total height variance in girls, and up to 50 percent in boys. Eight amplitude and 4 phase components appeared biologically significant. The largest amplitude component explained 91% of the amplitude variance and is characterised by an almost horizontal pattern. The largest phase component explained 66% (boys) and 63% (girls) of phase variance, rises throughout childhood and reaches up to 0.85 years in adolescent boys, and up to 0.75 years in adolescent girls. Phase components significantly correlated with the clinical signs of puberty. The combination of PCA and the Maximum Likelihood Principle provides a new, powerful and automatic tool for growth modelling that includes estimates of future growth, adult stature and developmental tempo. Preliminary results indicate that this approach can be used for automatised screening purposes.

Human growth is both a target seeking process regulated by genes and environment, and a highly dynamic process that even under similar social and economic circumstances varies considerably both in amplitude (being short or tall) and tempo (maturing fast or slow). This has led to vivid discussions about which growth chart is the right chart to use. In contrast to wide-spread opinions emphasizing the similarity in early childhood growth among diverse ethnic groups, it has become apparent that a single "global" reference fails to adequately mirror the diversity in human growth. In view of the raising evidence that growth is also influenced by the peer group, we refer to novel, cost-effective procedures that facilitate producing growth references "on demand", for limited regional purposes, for ethnically, socio-economically or politically defined minorities, but also for matching geographically different groups of children and adolescents for international growth and registry studies.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We examined the final period of tibial growth in late adolescent males. METHODS: Forty-one healthy male subjects, aged 15.7 to 19.8 years participated in a study on lower leg length (LLL) growth, body height and weight increments. All subjects were measured and weighed at weekly intervals over a period of one year. Body height was determined by an anthropometer, body weight by conventional scales, and LLL was measured by a hand-held knemometer. The state of maturity of the proximal tibial epiphyses was determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Skeletal maturity was independently assessed by two radiologists. The growth plates were categorized as being open (category I), centrally but not completely fused (category II), or completely fused (category III). RESULTS: Our findings demonstrate that in these adolescents, final tibial growth is characterized by longitudinal shrinkage. As shown in the MRI, when the proximal tibial growth plates have fused (i.e., at an age when lower leg growth is commonly believed to have completed), the lower leg of healthy adolescent males begins to shrink with a negative growth rate of -2.4 (SD 2.1) mm/year. CONCLUSION: Apart from sporadic observations in anorectic girls, longitudinal shrinkage in LLL has not been previously documented. We assume that the final period of growth includes small reductions in bone length, possibly due to stabilization and rearrangements in the formerly growing cartilaginous tissues.

Growth is defined as an increase of size over time with time usually defined as physical time. Yet, the rigid metric of physical time is not directly relevant to the internal dynamics of growth. Growth is linked to maturation. Children and adolescents differ in the tempo at which they mature. One calendar year differs in its meaning in a fast maturing, and in a slow maturing child. The slow child needs more calendar years for completing the same stage of maturity. Many characteristics in the human growth curve are tempo characteristics. Tempo - being fast or slow maturing - has to be carefully separated from amplitude - being tall or short. Several characteristic phenomena such as catch-up growth after periods of illness and starvation are largely tempo phenomena, and do usually not affect the amplitude component of growth. Applying Functional Data Analysis and Principal Component Analysis, the two main sources of height variance: tempo and amplitude can statistically be separate and quantified. Tempo appears to be more sensitive than amplitude to nutrition, health and environmental stress. An appropriate analysis of growth requires disentangling its two major components: amplitude and tempo. The assessment of the developmental tempo thus is an integral part of assessing child and adolescent growth. Though an Internet portal is currently available to process small amounts of height data (www.willi-will-wachsen.com) for separately determining amplitude and tempo in growth, there is urgent need of better and practical solutions for analyzing individual growth.

Ample literature describes the history of the association between the advances in the health and wealth of people, and mortality rates, life expectancy and adult height. Twentynine German studies with n > 200 subjects published since 1848 on menarcheal age, were reanalyzed, and 101 studies from various other European and non-European countries. On average, mean age at menarche declined since the mid-19(th) century. Historic urban samples tended to decline earlier than rural groups, upper class women earlier than working class women. In Germany, minimum values for the age at menarche were seen already between the two World Wars (Leipzig 12.6 years in 1934, Halle 13.3 years in 1939). Values for mean age and SD for age at menarche were strongly associated. With improving historic circumstances, the two parameters declined in parallel. The standard deviation for menarcheal age dropped from over 2.5 years in mid-19th century France to little more or even less than 1 year in most modern countries. In the German studies the correlation between menarcheal age and SD was almost complete with r = 0.96 (y = 0.35x - 3.53). Similar associations between mean age at menarche and SD for age were found in other European countries. The obvious and immediate effects of historic events on menarcheal age, and particularly on the age distribution, indicate that menarche is a sensitive indicator of public health and wealth, and may be an appropriate estimator for the socio-economic background of historic populations.

The aim of this methodological anthropometric study was to compare direct anthropometry and digital two- dimensional photogrammetry in 18 male and 27 female subjects, aged 24 to 65 years, from Potsdam, Germany. In view of the rising interest in reliable biometric kephalofacial data, we focussed on head and face measurements. Out of 34 classic facial anatomical landmarks, 27 landmarks were investigated both by direct anthropometry and 2D-photogrammetry; 7 landmarks could not be localized by 2D-photogrammetry. Twenty-six kephalofacial distances were analysed both by direct anthropometry and digital 2D-photogrammetry. Kephalofacial distances are on average 7.6% shorter when obtained by direct anthropometry. The difference between the two techniques is particularly evident in total head height (vertex-gnathion) due to the fact that vertex is usually covered by hair and escapes from photogrammetry. Also the distances photographic sellion-gnathion (1.3 cm, i. e. 11.6%) and nasal-gnathion (1.2 cm, i. e. 9.4%) differ by more than one centimetre. Differences below 0.5 cm between the two techniques were found when measuring mucosa-lip-height (2.2%), gonia (3.0%), glabella-stomion (3.9%), and nose height (glabella-subnasal) (4.0%). Only the estimates of forehead width were significantly narrower when obtained by 2D-photogrammetry (-1.4 cm, -13.1%). The methodological differences increased with increasing magnitude of the kephalometric distance. Apart from these limitations, both techniques are similarly valid and may replace each other.

Growth and body height have always been topics interesting to the public. In particular, the stupendous increase of some 15-19. cm in final adult height during the last 150 years in most European countries (the " secular trend" ), the concomitant changes in body and head proportions, the tendency towards early onset of sexual maturation, the changes in the age when final height is being reached, and the very recent trend in body mass index, have generated much scientific literature. The marked plasticity of growth in height and weight over time causes problems. Child growth references differ between nations, they tend to quickly become out of date, and raise a number of questions regarding fitting methods, effects caused by selective drop-out, etc. New findings contradict common beliefs about the primary importance of nutritional and health related factors for secular changes in growth. There appears to be a broad age span from mid-childhood to early adolescence that is characterised by a peculiar insusceptibility. Environmental factors that are known to influence growth during this age span appear to have only little or no impact on final height. Major re-arrangements in height occur at an age when puberty has almost been completed and final height has almost been reached, implying that factors, which drive the secular trend in height, are limited to early childhood and late adolescence. © 2010 Elsevier GmbH.

Free amino acids affect food palatability. As information on amino acids in frequently purchased pre-packaged food is virtually absent, we analyzed free amino acid patterns of 17 frequently purchased ready-to-serve convenience food products, and compared them with the information obtained from the respective food labels.Quantitative amino acid analysis was performed using ion-exchange chromatography. gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations were verified using a stable isotope dilution gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) method. The patterns of free amino acids were compared with information obtained from food labels.An obvious mismatch between free amino acid patterns and food label information was detected. Even on considering that tomatoes and cereal proteins are naturally rich in glutamate, the concentrations of free glutamate outranged the natural concentration of this amino acid in several products, and strongly suggested artificial enrichment. Free glutamate was found to be elevated even in dishes that explicitly state 'no glutamate added'. Arginine was markedly elevated in lentils. Free cysteine was generally low, possibly reflecting thermal destruction of this amino acid during food processing. The meat and brain-specific dipeptide carnosine (CARN) was present in most meat-containing products. Some products did not contain detectable amounts of CARN in spite of meat content being claimed on the food labels. We detected GABA at concentrations that contribute significantly to the taste sensation.This investigation highlights a marked mismatch between food label information and food composition.

This study investigates the effect of rapid weight gain in term children, adolescents and young adults born appropriate for gestational age.In all, 173 girls and 178 boys aged 6.1-19.9 (12.5 +/- 3.1)years participated. Rapid weight gain (group 1) was defined as a change in weight-SDS (standard deviation score) from birth till two years0.67, 'no change' asor =-0.67 andor =0.67 (group 2) vs 'slow weight gain' as-0.67 (group 3). BMI-SDS, waist circumference (WC) z-score, fat mass (FM)/fat free mass (FFM; Air-Displacement-Plethysmography), resting energy expenditure (REE; ventilated hood system), cardio-metabolic risk factors, serum leptin and adiponectin were assessed.90th age-/sex-specific BMI-percentile was defined as overweight. Parental BMI, socio-economic status and lifestyle were assessed as confounders.A total of 22.8% gained weight rapidly, and 15.7% was overweight. Group 1 compared with group 2 and 3 subjects was taller, heavier and had a higher prevalence of overweight (girls/boys: 26.2%/28.9% vs 11.6%/19.0% vs 2.8%/5.0%; p0.01/p0.05). Concomitantly, a higher WC, %FM and FFM were observed. Rapid weight gain was positively associated with REE (adjusted for FFM) in boys (r = 0.26; p0.01), but not with cardio-metabolic risk factors.Rapid weight gain was related to increases in height, weight, a higher prevalence of overweight and central fat distribution. In addition, rapid weight gain was related to a higher REE in boys, but not to cardio-metabolic risk factors.

Recent progress in modelling individual growth has been achieved by combining the principal component analysis and the maximum likelihood principle. This combination models growth even in incomplete sets of data and in data obtained at irregular intervals. We re-analysed late 18th century longitudinal growth of German boys from the boarding school Carlsschule in Stuttgart. The boys, aged 6-23 years, were measured at irregular 3-12 monthly intervals during the period 1771-1793. At the age of 18 years, mean height was 1652 mm, but height variation was large. The shortest boy reached 1474 mm, the tallest 1826 mm. Measured height closely paralleled modelled height, with mean difference of 4 mm, SD 7 mm. Seasonal height variation was found. Low growth rates occurred in spring and high growth rates in summer and autumn. The present study demonstrates that combining the principal component analysis and the maximum likelihood principle enables growth modelling in historic height data also.

The dramatic world-wide trend towards increasing body weight seems to be less obvious in the Japanese population. The aim of this study is to extract potentially useful information regarding childhood and adolescence obesity in Japan from series of mean height and mean body mass index between 1948 and 2003. Mean values for height and weight of Japanese boys and girls aged 5+ to 17+ years were obtained from the "Reports on School Health Survey", Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, comprising approximately 4.5 % of all children and adolescents in Japan between 1948 and 2003. The data were fitted by the Preece and Baines model (Preece & Baines 1978) in order to obtain estimates of the age of peak height velocity (APHV) and final height. Isochrones for height and BMI were calculated based upon measurements that were obtained at the same chronological ages at different historic epochs. The APHV as estimated by Preece & Baines (1978) has decreased from 14.07 to 12.03 years in Japanese boys, and from 11.80 to 9.92 years in Japanese girls, indicating that the tempo of child and adolescent maturation (maturational tempo) has accelerated. Body height increased by 10.1 cm in near adult 17+ year old Japanese males and by 5.7 cm in 17+ year old Japanese females since 1948. Due to the acceleration and the earlier attainment of adult stature, isochrones for height tend to diverge for prepubertal ages and to converge for postpubertal ages. The same is true for weight. Body weight has increased by 11.8 kg in near adult males, and by 4.4 kg in near adult females. Also BMI has increased since 1948. But in contrast to height and weight, the rise in BMI only reflects the acceleration of the maturational tempo. Tempo-conditioned isochrones for BMI are almost horizontal, and even tended to temporarily decrease during the 60ies and the 70ies. The BMI of Japanese children and adolescents dramatically contrasts the recent and historic BMI changes in the Western populations. The present study provides no evidence of any major rise in the prevalence of obesity in Japan as expressed by mean BMI for age and time of birth, and suggests that Japanese children and adolescents may be more resistant against those environmental factors that have caused obesity in the affluent Western societies.

Background: Information on the effect of variability in maturational tempo on variability in height attained at the same age is not readily available.Aim: The study obtained this information from the data of the First Zurich Longitudinal Study.Subjects and methods: Yearly measurements of standing height, sitting height and leg length, yearly assessments of bone age (RUS (Radius, Ulna and Short bones), TW3 method) and midparent height for 232 children from the First Zurich Longitudinal Growth Study are included in a correlational analysis.Results: The course of the squared correlations of standing height, sitting height and leg length with attained RUS bone age, midparent height and both as a function of age are presented.Conclusions: During puberty, up to 50% of the height variation in boys and 40% in girls is explained by maturational tempo.Resume. Arriere plan: L’information concernant l’effet de la variabilite du rythme de la maturation sur celle de la stature a un âge donne, n’est pas disponible.But: ...

Body height and body mass index (BMI) were obtained from 807,592 German conscripts born between 1974 and 1978, aged 19-20 years. The conscripts had either completed Gymnasium (secondary school, more than 10 years, A-level), Realschule (secondary school, 10 years, O-level), or Hauptschule (elementary school, 9 years). Maternal data on body height and weight at the beginning of pregnancy from 1,432,368 women were obtained from the German birth statistics (deutsche Perinatalerhebung) 1995-1997. Morbid obesity is associated with short stature. Regardless of school education, average stature of conscripts progressively declines by up to 10 cm when the BMI increases above 38 kg/m 2 . In addition, morbidly obese young women are shorter than average, though the impact of overweight on adult stature appears to be less pronounced than in males.

The study examined the extent to which the geographical proximity of villages to an urban centre and other modernization variables are associated with variation in blood pressure and body mass index (BMI) of adults of the Purari delta of the Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG).Mean BMI, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 292 adults surveyed in 1995-1997 in the Purari delta, PNG, are reported by village of residence, and related to modernization variables, including village of residence, urban life, urban connectedness, economic status and education.Mean BMI, SBP and DBP differ according to village of residence, there being a gradient in mean blood pressure from highest in the village closest to the urban centre, Baimuru, and lowest in the village most distant from it. The gradients in these variables across the three villages are not due to differences in age structures between the villages. Place of residence, which represents the distance from town, has the greatest impact on the BMI of males, while among the females, the number of relatives living in urban centres had a significant effect on BMI. For both males and females, place of residence has the strongest effect on SBP. While for the males, place of residence is the only significant factor associated with SBP, for the females, SBP is also associated with BMI, level of income and to a lesser extent with age. Very similar results were obtained for DBP.Distance to urban centre appears to have a strong effect, relative to other modernization variables, on BMI and blood pressure, this effect being far stronger for males than for females. In large part, this effect operates by way of differences in number of sources of income as well as number of close relatives of women who are resident in an urban centre. Reasons for the male-female differences observed may include gender differences in degree of mobility, and possibly greater physical sensitivity of males to the environment than females. Traditionally, there have been clear divisions of labour between males and females, the latter spending longer in subsistence activities than the former. It is speculated that males have more free time to travel to town should they wish, while women may travel to town to take produce to market, and be limited by how much time they spend in town when they are there, by the need to return to carry out household and subsistence tasks. It may also be that young adult males are more susceptible to modernization, in that they exhibit a greater degree of non-conformity than young women, and may be more favourably disposed to adopt aspects of western lifestyle.

The study aimed to measure the direct effect of dexamethasone (DEXA) on daily lower leg length per mini-knemometry of premature infants and to examine whether the administration of different doses is associated with alternations in growth.We observed 20 premature children and had 276 complete mini-knemometrical and weight measurements (13.8 measurements per single child) for analysis. The gestational age of the infants was 26.8 +/- 1.9 weeks; the mean birth weight was 973 +/- 336 g. All infants underwent daily measurements of lower leg length performed by mini-knemometry. We divided the 41 DEXA administrations into three subgroups. Group I included a cumulative dose of 0.75 mg DEXA per kg bodyweight (BW), group II doses between 0.75 and 1.0 mg per kg BW and group III dosages above 1.0 mg per kg BW.We observed catch-up growth in group I within 24 h after stopping therapy. Groups II and III needed 48-72 h to achieve a normal level in short-term growth.Lower doses seemed to have an equivalent effect without long-term effect on lower leg length. In higher doses (groups II and III) the growth was suppressed for more than 24 h.

The thrifty phenotype hypothesis proposes that the epidemiological associations between poor fetal and infant growth and the subsequent development of the metabolic syndrome, result from the effects of poor nutrition in early life. The present review however, considers an opposite explanation. We hypothesize that fetal over-nutrition plays a major role in the development of the metabolic syndrome. We found evidence that the thrifty phenotype may be the consequence of fetal hyperglutamatemia. Maternal glutamate (GLU) reaches the fetal circulation, as part of the materno-fetal glutamine-glutamate exchange. Glutamine is absorbed from the maternal circulation, and deaminated for nitrogen utilization, resulting in a fetal production of GLU. GLU is extracted as it returns to the placenta. When the umbilical plasma flow is low, GLU may be trapped in the fetal circulation, and reaches neurotoxic levels. Administering GLU to newborn rodents completely destructs arcuate nucleus neurons, and results in permanently elevated plasma leptin levels that fail to adequately counter-regulate food intake. Chronic fetal exposure to elevated levels of GLU may be caused by chronic maternal over-nutrition or by reduced umbilical plasma flow. We strongly suggest abandoing the flavoring agent monosodium glutamate and reconsidering the recommended daily allowances of protein and amino acids during pregnancy.

Objective: To correct the calculation of target height (TH) for assortative mating and parent-offspring correlations. Methods: Define the standard deviation score (SDS) of TH as the mean parental height SDS: TH SDS = (Father SDS + Mother SDS)2. This needs correcting for assortative mating and regression bias, using r(P,P) the parent-parent correlation and r(P,O) the parent-offspring correlation. Together they give the conditional target height (cTH SDS):cTH SDS=TH SDS x r(P,O) x 2/(1+ +r(P,P))+ error where the error term has mean 0 and standard deviation 1 - r(P,O) 2 . Results: We assume r(P,P) = 0.27 and r(P,O) = 0.57, based on the Swedish data of Luo et al. [Pediatr Res 1998;44:563-571], so that: cTH SDS = TH SDS x 0.57 x √2/(1 + 0.27) = TH SDS x 0.72 with a 95% confidence interval of ′1.6 SDS units. The formula is independent of sex, and if parental height SDS is obtained from growth charts dating back one generation, the formula is also independent of secular height changes. Conclusions: cTH SDS is equal to only 0.72 times the average of father's and mother's height SDS. Current practice ignores this scaling factor, so that the children of short parents are ascribed a TH which is as much as 4 cm too low. This will tend to exaggerate the benefits of growth-promoting therapies.

AIM Child growth is modulated by numerous factors and, particularly in infancy and early childhood, often tends to follow apparently irregular patterns, with many centiles crossed before the later growth channels are reached. The aim of this study was to visualize the diversity of individual growth. DESIGN The study investigated 333 girls and 329 boys without chronic illnesses from four paediatric practices in Kiel, Germany. The children were measured on natural, i.e., on various occasions, when they were presented to their doctors for preventive care examinations and for minor illnesses, at the age of 0.25 (range +/- 0.08) y, 0.5 (range +/- 0.16) y, 0.75 (range +/- 0.16) y, 1.0 (range +/- 0.25) y, and at the ages of 1.5, 2, 3, 4 and 5 (range +/- 0.25) y. Each individual growth curve was converted into a series of height SDS (standard deviation scores) using one of the most reputable longitudinal German growth studies as background reference. Height SDS was then converted into residual height SDS (differences between height SDS of each measurement and average personal height SDS of the respective child). Cluster analysis was used to identify groups of children (clusters) with similarities in residual height SDS patterns (growth tracks). The clusters contained a minimum of at least 10 children. Single children or small sets of individuals below the minimum number were rejected from further analysis. RESULTS In males, 10 growth tracks were identified, each consisting of 11 to 52 boys. Growth in 111 boys was so heterogeneous that they could not be assigned to growth tracks. In females, 11 growth tracks were identified, each consisting of 12 to 48 girls; 112 girls could not be assigned. Approximately 7% of boys and 15% of girls showed evidence of a mild intermittent growth spurt at the end of infancy. Some growth tracks were almost horizontal, or showed declining residual height SDS up to the age of 3 and 4 y, with no evidence of growth spurts during early childhood. Others showed sharply declining growth in early infancy, or irregular patterns. Similar results were obtained when using cross-sectional standards as background reference. CONCLUSION Cluster analysis provides evidence that the substantial diversity in infant and early child growth, is limited to a small number of narrow but characteristic tracks of yet unknown biological significance.

According to the concept of canalisation, infants and children stay within one or two growth channels, and therefore, any crossing of height centiles always warrants further evaluation. In view of evidence against this concept we re-investigated the variability of individual growth in the First Zürich Longitudinal Growth Study. The investigation is based on height measurements of 232 children (112 females, 120 males) measured at annual intervals during childhood and half-yearly during adolescence. Height data were transformed into height standard deviation scores (SDS) and canalisation defined by the width of an individual's growth channel, i.e., by the differences between maximum and minimum height SDS, in the individual series of measurements. Many subjects of the First Zürich Longitudinal Growth Study crossed numerous centiles with patterns that often seemed to show characteristic features. For approximately two thirds of the subjects, the SDS channel during the whole growth process covers more than one SDS. In childhood, between the age of two and age of minimal height velocity, only about one fourth of the subjects have an SDS channel below 0.5, indicating acceptable canalisation. During childhood, growth in boys appeared slightly more canalised than in girls (P = 0.02). Conclusion. The present investigation does not support the concept of strict canalisation of individual growth. We suggest to consider crossing of centiles a normal event in child development, though in a clinical setting crossing centiles should still be taken seriously, at least at first until a medical cause for this has been excluded.

Child growth is a dynamic process that is usually measured at infrequent intervals. Though at this level, body stature often appears to follow certain growth channels, the majority of children grows non-linearly.

To reduce the time to monitor success of growth hormone therapy, Gulliver G-100 (G-100), a new portable height measurement device based on ultrasound technology, was developed and compared with a conventional determination system, the Harpenden stadiometer (HS). In addition, growth of 12 children was monitored at home twice per day 3 months before and 3 months during GH therapy. Mean body height of 101 children was 144.67 cm using G-100 compared to 145.16 cm using HS. The coefficient of variability of 3 measurements from each patient was 0.29 and 0.18 using G-100 or HS, respectively. Statistic analysis of these data revealed no significant difference between G- 100 or HS. Statistical analysis of short-time growth of 12 patients revealed an increase of growth velocity for 8 patients (p < 0.01) after 3 months. Calculated growth velocity using data revealed from short-time growth analysis with G-100 and using long-term growth analysis with HS did not show any significant difference. Our data reveal that G-100 is able to produce accurate results in height measurement comparable to the HS. Using G-100, the patient can be classified as a ‘responder‘ of GH therapy already after 3 months.

The present paper links the two most contrasting aspects of auxology, and addresses the apparent discrepancy between the variability and pulsatility of short term individual growth, and the stability of population derived parameters. When body stature is measured at monthly intervals, an irregular incremental pattern becomes obvious, with a number of large scale components such as series of prepubertal and pubertal growth spurts, seasonal influences on height gain, and influences of the psychosocial and economic background. When measurement intervals decrease, the patterns of stature increment appear even more irregular, and a number of short scale components become apparent, that are distinct from measurement error. Observations are presented that suggest growth being a pulsatile, a periodic, a saltatory, respectively a chaotic event as suggested by some recent studies in animals and in human newborns. Accurate measurements of the lower leg at intervals of 24 hours support the idea of short term growth being characterized by chaotic series of 'mini growth spurts' that occur at intervals of approximately 4-9 days. The amplitude of mini growth spurts ranges between 2 and some 10 mm, and also growth velocity of each spurt varies considerably so that one spurt needs between less than one and up to several days for completion. The very opposite of the variability of individual growth was found in populations. A meta-analysis of 40 male and 51 female European and US American growth studies revealed an almost uniform general pattern of average stature increment during the last 100 years. An additional analysis of stature variation of very large Japanese and Czechoslovakian growth surveys, with all together more than 23000000 measurements, and more than 500000 German preschool and school measurements, suggested similar uniformity in the standard deviation of stature.

Five thousand and eighteen quadruplet daily measurements of lower-leg length of 62 female and 81 male rats, were performed in order to characterize short-term growth. Within a short time, growth proceeds irregularly and consists of multiple incremental bursts (mini growth spurts) with no evidence for strict periodic behavior. Mini growth spurts are S-shaped incremental patterns that can be characterized by double-exponential functions (Gompertz's functions). Gompertz's functions are S-shaped, and can be defined by three parameters that identify amplitude, inflection point (age at peak growth velocity), and slope. The latter not only refers to the rapidity of each incremental burst, but also alludes to the duration that one incremental burst needs for completion. In regard to these characteristics, mini growth spurts differ significantly between the sexes in rats. Mean amplitude of mini growth spurts was 2153 microm (SD 1034 microm) in female rats and 2958 microm (SD 1614 microm) in male rats. Peak growth velocity of mini growth spurts appeared lower in male rats than in female rats. Female rats showed mean gamma of -1.23 (SD 0.72), whereas male rats showed mean y of -0.96 (SD 0.72). Partial growth hormone deficiency led to a modification in rats that was reversed when exogenous growth hormone was administered. Mean intervals between subsequent mini growth spurts ranged between 4.2 and 4.6 days, but the large variation of these intervals (SD between 1.6 and 2.3 days) and the fact that neither spurt-spurt interval nor spurt amplitude appeared predictable, strongly suggest chaotic behavior of mini growth spurts.

The analysis of short-term growth needs repetitive measurements of body stature or of segments of the body. When body stature is measured at monthly intervals, an irregular incremental pattern becomes obvious with a number of large-scale components such as series of prepubertal and pubertal growth spurts, seasonal influences on height gain, and influences of the psychosocial and economic background. When measurement intervals decrease, incremental patterns appear even more irregular, and a number of short-scale components become apparent that are distinct from measurement error. The review summarizes the analysis of short-term growth, and presents the current findings supporting different views on how growth progresses at short term. In particular, observations are presented that suggest growth being a pulsatile, a periodic, a saltatory, and a chaotic event. Some recent animal studies and studies in human newborns are added in detail as they illustrate short-term growth on the basis of accurate 24-hour measurements of the lower leg. The latter investigations support the idea of short-term growth being characterized by chaotic series of ‘mini growth spurts’ that occur at intervals of approximately 4–5 days, not only in human neonates, but also in rats. The amplitude of mini growth spurts ranges between 2 and some 10 mm, and growth velocity of each spurt also varies considerably so that one spurt needs between less than 1 and up to several days for completion.