Size and shape modifications in Sardinian adolescent girls

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Human Growth and Development
• Adolescent Health

Background:

• Menarche signifies the onset of puberty, a critical period for significant bodily changes in females.
• Understanding metric and morphological variations during female puberty is crucial for assessing normal development.
• Factors like age, age at menarche, and time since menarche may influence these developmental changes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define metric and morphological variations during sexual maturation in Sardinian adolescent girls.
• To investigate the influence of age, age at menarche, and time since menarche on these variations.
• To analyze body composition changes (fat-free mass, fat mass) in relation to pubertal development.

Main Methods:

• Study included 155 Sardinian girls aged 10-17 years.
• Thirty-eight anthropometric variables were measured.
• Body composition was assessed using Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA).
• Statistical analyses included Student's t-test, principal components analysis, cluster analysis, and multiple regression.

Main Results:

• Adolescent girls' body dimensions predominantly increase with sexual maturation.
• Age at menarche impacts overall fat mass but does not alter visceral or subcutaneous fat distribution.
• Time elapsed since menarche shows no significant effect on subcutaneous fat distribution.

Conclusions:

• Sexual maturation is the primary driver of body dimension changes during female adolescence.
• While age at menarche affects total fat mass, it does not dictate fat distribution patterns.
• Time since menarche is not a determining factor in subcutaneous fat distribution.