Comparisons of fatness in premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls of the same age.

Triceps and subscapular skinfolds of 2251 premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls from three different surveys were analyzed to ascertain whether there was a critical level of fatness below which menarche did not take place. Though postmenarcheal girls were slightly fatter than premenarcheal girls at each age, by approximately 3 mm, the skinfold distributions overlapped extensively. At skinfolds of 5 mm and below, some girls had attained menarche, and at skinfold thickness of 25 mm and above other girls were still premenarcheal. Neither skinfolds nor calculated percent fat values indicated the existence of a threshold level of fatness that can be termed "critical" with respect to menarche.