Original articleAdvanced Pubertal Status at Age 11 and Lower Physical Activity in Adolescent Girls
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were 143 adolescent non-Hispanic white girls who were part of a longitudinal study examining girls’ nutrition, dieting, physical activity, and health. Approval for research involving human participants was obtained from the Institutional Review Board at the Pennsylvania State University. Participants were assessed at ages 11 (mean = 11.33, SD = .29) and 13 (mean = 13.32, SD = .28) years. Parents and the participants provided written informed consent for all procedures. Only girls
Results
The percentage of girls who lived in households with reported incomes of less than $35,000, $35,001 to $49,999, or $50,000 or more per year was 16%, 24%, and 60%, respectively. The average years of education for mothers was 14.42 years and for fathers was 14.89 years. On the basis of the composite pubertal development variable, 30% (n = 41) of the girls were classified as earlier maturers, and 70% (n = 102) of the girls were classified as later maturers (Table I). With respect to weight status,
Discussion
Results from this study indicate that earlier timing of pubertal development at age 11 is associated with lower levels of physical activity at age 13. This relationship remained after controlling for body fatness, self-reported physical activity, and family SES at age 11. Consequently, the identified associations are not driven by preestablished levels of physical activity (ie, low-active girls maturing more quickly than high-active girls) or body fat (ie, girls who are more overweight and more
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Supported by NIH grants (HD 32973, M01 RR10732) and (HD 46567-01).