MENARCHE AGE, FATNESS, AND FAT DISTRIBUTION IN HAWAIIAN ADOLESCENTS

Menarche age was assessed in 93 adolescent females in a sample of publ ic schools in East Hawaii. Native Hawaiian girls had significantly low er reported age at menarche than non-Hawaiian classmates. Age at menar che was significantly correlated with total fatness as measured by the sum of six skihfolds in girls who had reached menarche at least 2 yea rs previous to measurement. When fatness was controlled in comparisons , the ethnic differences were not significant. Fat distribution, indep endent of fatness, was also significantly related to age at menarche. Socioeconomic, cultural, and admixture variables were not significantl y related to age at menarche. Adiposity appears to be both a cause and a consequence of early age at menarche, with the relationship depende nt on the elapsed time between menarche and measurement. This suggests that studies relating body composition to age at menarche must carefu lly central far the time interval between measurement and the date of menarche. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.