Percent body fat at age 5 predicts earlier pubertal development among girls at age 9

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.

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.

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.

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.