The interrelationships between age, physical measurements and body composition at menarche in schoolgirls at Ilorin, Nigeria

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Abstract
A cross-sectional study of age, physical size and body composition at menarche was made at Ilorin, Nigeria among 162 secondary school girls who reached menarche between March and June, 1983. The findings show that the mean age, height and weight are 13.7 .+-. 1.0 yr, 156.2 .+-. 6.3 cm and 47.4 .+-. 6.7 kg, respectively. The estimated body composition is: total body water (TBW), 25.7 .+-. 2.3 l; lean body mass (LBM), 35.7 .+-. 3.3 kg; and fat content, 11.8 .+-. 3.8 kg. Whereas the coefficient of variation was highest for fat content (32.2), it was least for height (4.0). Menarcheal age has a weak correlation to all the variables, but strong correlation existed between weight and the parameters of body composition. The findings of body composition at menarche in Nigerian and North American schoolgirls are similar.