Komlos John, Breitfelder Ariane
University of Munich, Ludwigstrasse 33/IV, Munich, Germany.
Ann Hum Biol. 2007 Nov-Dec;34(6):593-606. doi: 10.1080/03014460701730032.
The study compared the height and BMI values of US children and youth by gender in the most recent NHANES surveys (1999-2004) to those of their Dutch counterparts in 1997 in order to gain insights into the different growth patterns.
US children and youth are both shorter and heavier than their Dutch counterparts. US adolescent girls tend to experience an earlier growth spurt than do the Dutch and the velocity of growth of US boys slows down faster after the adolescent growth spurt than does that of their Dutch counterparts. The latter end up being approximately 5.6 cm taller and their median BMI values are 1.9-2.0 less than that of US youth between the ages of 10 and 19. This implies that US boys of the same height at age 19 are 8.8 kg heavier than their Dutch counterparts, and girls of age 13 are 7.2 kg heavier.
Some studies link high BMI values in childhood to an earlier onset of adolescence, which in turn has been linked to less growth thereafter.
The fast tempo of growth of the US children may be associated with high energy balance, which leads to higher BMI values and which in turn may be associated with less growth during adolescence.
本研究比较了最近一次美国国家健康与营养检查调查（1999 - 2004年）中美国儿童和青少年按性别划分的身高和体重指数值，以及1997年荷兰儿童和青少年的相应数据，以便深入了解不同的生长模式。
美国儿童和青少年比荷兰同行更矮更重。美国青春期女孩比荷兰女孩更早进入生长突增期，且美国男孩在青春期生长突增后生长速度比荷兰男孩更快减慢。最终，荷兰青少年比美国10至19岁的青少年大约高5.6厘米，其体重指数中位数比美国青少年低1.9 - 2.0。这意味着19岁时身高相同的美国男孩比荷兰男孩重8.8千克，13岁的美国女孩比荷兰女孩重7.2千克。
一些研究将儿童时期高体重指数值与青春期提前开始联系起来，而青春期提前开始又与之后生长较少有关。
美国儿童快速的生长节奏可能与高能量平衡有关，这导致更高的体重指数值，进而可能与青春期生长较少有关。
