THE RELATIONSHIP OF BIRTH-WEIGHT WITH HEIGHT AT 14 AND WITH THE GROWING PROCESS

The association of birthweight with length at 12 mo and with height at different ages was assessed in a sample of 260 healthy adolescents (1 30 boys and 130 girls). The longitudinal study included measures on bo dy weight and height at 4, 6, 12, and 13 yr of age. Birthweight is hig hly correlated with stature at 14 years, particularly in male adolesce nts. Longitudinal principal components analysis (LPCA) showed that it is also correlated with the growing process. There is also strong evid ence that birthweight can be a good predictor of the onset of the pube rtal maturation process.