AGE-RELATED AND MATURITY-RELATED CHANGES IN BODY-COMPOSITION DURING ADOLESCENCE INTO ADULTHOOD - THE FELS LONGITUDINAL-STUDY

We examined patterns of change in body composition from 8 to 20 yrs of age and the effects of rate of maturation on these patterns using ser ial data for total body fat (TBF). There is a continual increase, but a declining rate of change with age in TBF. For %BF the same pattern a s for TBF exists for females, but for males the pattern of change in p ercentage body fat (%BF) reflects the concurrent changes in fat free m ass (FFM). For FFM, there is an increase in females that slows at olde r ages, but in males there is a continual rapid increase until young a dulthood. There is marked tracking for body composition persisting fro m childhood to adulthood. At the same age, rapidly maturing children h ave significantly larger TBF, %BF and FFM than slowly maturing childre n. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.