Physical growth pattern for boys (9-18 yr) from rural west Bengal.

A cross-sectional anthropometric survey on 629 healthy boys (9-18 yr) of the lower and middle class families of Hooghly district of rural West Bengal was undertaken to study the growth pattern of boys of this population. Maximum gain in height and weight of boys was attained at 13-15 yr of age, as has been reported earlier for boys of Calcutta; other anthropometric measurements followed almost similar pattern. The boys of the present study were superior in physique to south Indian boys, boys of rural Udaipur, Lucknow and of those reported by ICMR. They are also found to be taller than the boys of West Bengal studied (longitudinal) between 1952-1966. The Bengalee girls of the same area of West Bengal showed an accelerated growth up to the age of 13 or 14 (for height and weight respectively) than the boys of comparable age but the reverse was observed at the age of 14 or 15. Boys of the present study were shorter and lighter than well-to-do Indian, American and British counterparts.