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1. Normal Pubertal Development In addition to the changes of the genitalia and pubic hair, adolescents experience a sequence of events during puberty. For girls, a rapid increase in the velocity at which their stature increases during the pubertal "growth spurt" (peak height velocity) occurs about a year after the onset of breast development, generally around age 12. This phase is represented in the girls stature-for-age curve as: |
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(Roll your mouse over the links below to display visual aids on the chart to the right.) |
a
slight upward inflection point at about 10 years of age |
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followed
by a more rapid increase in stature until about 12 years of age, when the
slope of the stature curve reaches its maximum. |
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Another
inflection point can be seen around 13 years of age, when the slope of the
stature curve noticeably falls downward... |
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...
and the curve eventually flattens out entirely as the final adult stature
is reached. |
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| Breast development (thelarche) begins around 11 years of age, and menses ("menarche") generally begin about two years after the onset of breast development, at an average age of about 12.5 to 13 years of age. Recent data suggests that girls may be experiencing thelarche earlier than previously thought, on average around 10 years of age for white girls and 9 years of age for black girls. However, a number of pediatric endocrinologists have called the validity of these studies into question and these studies have not demonstrated a dramatic decrease in the age of menarche. Although not demonstrated on the charts, it is known that earlier pubertal development is associated with more rapid increase in stature and weight than average, while later pubertal development is associated with a less rapid increase in stature and weight. |
