Physical growth characteristics in rural adolescent girls of Varanasi.

Four hundred and twenty one rural girls of Varanasi in the age group 8.5-14 years were followed up for assessment of their physical growth characteristics. The observed gain in height was 15.93 cm; in weight 9.80 kg and in sitting height 7.92 cm during the age interval of 10-14 years. In the same period the biacromial and the bicristal diameters showed a gain of 5.26 and 4.20 cm, respectively. The maximum increase in these parameters was observed after 13 years of age indicating the onset of the growth spurt. The chest and the mid-arm circumference increased by 14.70 and 3.02 cm, respectively during this period. There was no rapid increase in these parameters upto 14 years of age. The head circumference showed only a modest increase of 2.22 cm. It is concluded that the rural girls have a delayed and slower gain in physical growth characteristics than urban well-to-do girls.