BODY-MASS INDEX AT DIFFERENT AGES AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH HEIGHT AT AGE 14 AND WITH THE WHOLE GROWING PROCESS

The relevance of the association of the body mass index (BMI) at 1, 4, 6, and 12 years of age with the growing process and its capacity for predicting height al age 14 was investigated in a sample of 354 adoles cents (182 boys and 172 girls). Regression analysis showed that body b ulk at various ages, as expressed by the BMI is closely related with t he height attained at age 14, and longitudinal principal components an alysis suggested that it is also associated with the whole growing pro cess. The way in which BMI affects height could be related with the st age of sexual development, which seems to play an intermediate role in the pathway linking body bulk and height.