Pubertal growth spurt does not occur in some normally growing Polish girls, suggesting an evolutionary origin of...

Numerous child growth studies showed the adolescent growth spurt in body height to the extent that its presence became a dogma applied to humans as a species. However, observations of growth in the 19th c. and in small traditional societies showed for some children a steady growth without visible pubertal spurt. Recently, substantial variation in the age at puberty and the magnitude of growth acceleration during puberty have been observed.

Longitudinal height growth data of 110 girls aged 6-18 years (1314 height measurements in total) from a homogenous socio-economic situation were analysed by fitting polynomial regressions on age and assessing their first and second derivatives (growth velocity and acceleration).

Among 110 girls, 18 (16 %) showed a steady growth with no spurts, while others' accelerations were highly variable. Girls who experienced a growth spurt had a mean age at peak height velocity of 11.2 years and a mean peak height velocity of 69.3 mm, comparable to many other studies. There was a negative correlation between adult height and variation in individual accelerations (r-0.24, p = 0.01) - girls whose accelerations differed less yearly (lower spurt) achieved greater adult heights.

Human growth at adolescence is highly variable, polymorphic, to the extent that the growth in height without the distinct pubertal spurt is also a normal polymorphic variant. Girls who had no significant growth spurt attained the same adult height at exactly the same age as their "spurting" peers.