UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF TITLE AND SUPERVISORS

SECTION A: PARTICULARS OF THE CANDIDATE

NAME: IBEABUCHI, Nwachukwu Mike

MATRIC No: MS 2113

QUALIFICATIONS: MB, BS (Lagos), 1985; M. Sc (Lagos), 1989.

DEGREE IN VIEW: Ph. D. Applied Anatomy

STATUS: Staff Candidate

DATE OF REGISTRATION: M. Phil 1998; Conversion to Ph. D 2003.

FIELD OF STUDY: Kinanthropometry

PROPOSED TITLE OF THESIS: A kinanthropometric investigation of the body build

and physical growth of adolescent Nigerian children
in urban Lagos.

SECTION B: RESULTS OF COURSE-WORK EXAMINATION

COURSE CODE NUMBER OF UNITS SCORE GRADE GRADE POINT

ANT 901 4

ANT 902 3

ANT 903 3

ANT 951 3

ANT 952 3

TOTAL UNITS = TOTAL G.P.A. =

PROPOSED SUPERVISORS

1. A.O. Okanlawon (Professor) Department of Anatomy

S.I. Jaja (Associate Professor) Department of Physiology

RECOMMENDATION:

The Postgraduate Education Committee at its meeting held on Wednesday, 11 th May 2005,
considered the application and recommended it to the Academic Board. The Provost is
recommending the application on behalf of the Academic Board to the Board of Postgraduate
Studies for necessary action.
 Professor S. O. Elesha Dr. (Mrs) A. F. Fagbenro- Beyioku
Provost Chairman, Postgraduate Education Committee.

UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS

SCHOOL OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

DEPARTMENT OF ANATOMY

PROGRESS/SUPERVISORS’ REPORT IN RESPECT OF Ph.D. CANDIDATE

SECTION A: PARTICULARS OF THE CANDIDATE

NAME: IBEABUCHI, Nwachukwu Mike

MATRIC No: MS 2113

QUALIFICATIONS: MB, BS Lagos 1985, and M.Sc Lagos 1989

DEGREE IN VIEW: Ph. D. Applied Anatomy

STATUS: Staff Candidate

DATE OF REGISTRATION: M. Phil 1998; conversion to Ph. D 2003.

FIELD OF STUDY: Kinanthropometry

PROPOSED TITLE OF THESIS: A kinanthropometric investigation into the physique

and somatic growth of a socioeconomically diverse
sample of adolescent Nigerian children in urban
Lagos.

SECTION B: RESULTS OF COURSE-WORK EXAMINATION

COURSE CODE NUMBER OF UNITS SCORE GRADE GRADE POINT

ANT 901 4

ANT 902 3

ANT 903 3

ANT 951 3

ANT 952 3

TOTAL UNITS = TOTAL G.P.A. =

SECTIONS C: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE RESEARCH

1. Originality of the work

 2. Evidence of Competence in the Field

3. Interim Assessment of the Candidate’s Candidate

4. Potential Worth of the Content of the Research Material for purposes of Publication.

5. Potential for Contribution to knowledge

SECTION D

AN ASSESSMENT OF PROGRESS IN RESEARCH DURING THE PERIOD,

INCLUDING ANY DELAY OR VERY RAPID PROGRESS IN THE STUDENT’S

WORK

SECTION E: PARTICULARS OF SUPERVISORS

I. NAME: A.O. OKANLAWON S.I. JAJA

II. DESIGNATION: PROFESSOR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR

III.
IV. DEPARTMENT: ANATOMY PHYSIOLOGY

V. SIGNATURE: ---------------------------------- ----------------------------

VI. DATE: ---------------------------------- ---------------------------

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The physical structure of the growing child has been systematically studied for over 150

years (Tanner, 1981). The basic concepts are built on a strong historical foundation in the

medical, anthropological and human biological sciences. These studies are often

intertwined with studies of physical activity, performance and fitness of children and

adolescents whose foundation is largely built on what was traditionally called physical

education and what is now called kinesiology, human kinetics, the physical activity

sciences or exercise and sports sciences. These aspects of human biology have been

studied at the level of the individual as well as in samples of children within communities

and national populations.

The study of these phenomena has contributed to our understanding of human

biologic variation. A significant portion of the biological variation evident among
adults in any population has its origin during the years of growth and maturation,
including the prenatal period. The usual way an individual can become an adult is
through the processes of growth, maturation and development. These processes
have been shown to be quite plastic. They may be influenced by a variety of
environmental factors operating on the growing and maturing individual-
nutritional intake, infant and childhood diseases, patterns of physical activity and
other environmental stresses, which may interact with the individual’s genetic
potential for growth and maturation. The net result is a wide range of variation
among individuals. An important objective would, therefore, be to understand the
biological variability evident during the growing years in terms of its origin,
distribution among different populations and significance. A vital question would
 be why does such variation exist and what does it mean to the individual? What is
the significance of early or late maturity for behavior and performance of the
individual?
An issue of current interest has been the association between growth and maturity, on the

one hand, and between growth and adult health on the other. This association, in turn,

emphasizes the need to continue studies of growth into the adult years. Early sexual

maturity has been associated with several cancers in adulthood. Overweight adolescents

tend to become overweight adults. Although association does not demonstrate causality,

the results emphasize the need to consider risk factors for adult diseases within a life span

framework, beginning with fetal growth.

In addition to the foregoing, the study of growth and maturation has provided basic

information relative to several more specific issues. These include: status, progress,

prediction, tracking, comparison and interpretation of growth and maturity.

1.1.1 Operational Definition of Terms

• Growth- this is an increase in the size of the body as a whole and or the size

attained by specific parts of the body.

• Hyperplasia- this is an increase in cell number.

• Hypertrophy- this is an increase in cell size.

• Accretion - this is an increase in intercellular substance.

Hyperplasia, hypertrophy and accretion all occur during growth, but the

predominance of one or another process varies with age and the tissue involved.
 The increase in number is a function of cell division (mitosis), which involves

the replication of DNA and the subsequent migration of replicated chromosomes

into functional and identical cells. The increase in cell size involves an increase in

functional units within the cell, particularly protein and substrates, as is

especially evident in the muscular hypertrophy that occurs during growth and

especially with regular resistance training during adolescence. The intercellular

substances are both organic and inorganic, and they often function to bind or

aggregate the cells in complex networks, as collagen fibers do in providing the

matrix for the adipocytes of adipose tissue.

• Postnatal life – this is defined as life after the first month of birth. It is

commonly, although somewhat arbitrarily, divided into three or four age periods.

• Infancy - this is the first year of life, up to but not including the first birthday.

This definition is universally accepted, specifically in the context of worldwide

public health. It is a period of rapid growth in most bodily systems and

dimensions and of rapid development of the neuromuscular system. Infancy is

further subdivided into the following:

• Perinatal - around the time of birth, the first week.

• Neonatal - the first month of life.

• Postnatal - the remainder of the first year period and onwards.

• Childhood - extends from the end of infancy (the first birthday) to the start of

adolescence. It is often divided into:

• Early childhood - this includes the preschool years. In the context of public

health, early childhood extends from the first birthday through 4 years of age (1.0
 to 4.99 years). Early childhood continues the rapid growth and development of

infancy, although at a decelerated rate.

• Middle childhood - this generally includes the elementary school years into

primary five and six. Middle childhood extends from 5 years to the beginning of

adolescence. It is a period of relative steady progress in physical growth and

maturation and in behavioral development. The public health definition of

infancy and early childhood is used for the estimation of infant and childhood

mortality, both of which are accepted universally as indicators of the health and

nutritional status in a community.

• Adolescence - This is a more difficult period to define in terms of chronological

age because of the variation in the time of its onset and termination. The World

Health Organization (WHO) defines the age of adolescence as between 10 and

18 years (WHO, 1995) but certain authorities (Rolland-Cachera et al., 1991;

Suwa et al., 1992; Roche and Guo, 2001; Malina, Bouchard and Bar-0r, 2004)

regard the age ranges of 8 to 19 years in girls and 10 and 22 years in boys as are

more appropriate limits for normal variation in the onset and termination of

adolescence.

In this period, most bodily systems become adult both structurally and

functionally, i.e. they reach maturity. Structurally, adolescence begins with

acceleration in the rate of growth in stature, which marks the onset of the

adolescent growth spurt. The rate of growth in height reaches a peak, then

begins a slower or decelerative phase, and finally terminates with the

attainment of adult stature. Functionally, however, adolescence is usually

 viewed in terms of sexual maturity, which actually begins with changes in the

neuroendocrine system before overt physical changes and terminates with the

attainment of mature reproductive function.

• Growth curves or tables of body dimensions, performance variables, and

measures of physical activity are ordinarily presented by chronological age.

• Status - This is defined as the attained size or level of maturity attained at a given

point in time.

A child’s growth, maturity or performance status relates to how the child

compares with other children of the same age and sex. It also refers to the status

of a group of children in a community. This approach has often been used in the

context of surveys of nutritional status, physical fitness and general health status.

According to the WHO, for instance, the growth status of children is perhaps the

best indicator of the overall health and nutritional circumstances in a community,

especially in the developing world (WHO, 1995).

• Progress - Progress implies change, which provides an estimate of rate.

When taken at several points in time, measurements and observations of a child or

a group of children have provided an indication of progress over time. A child

who grows 6cm over a period of 1 year would have a growth rate of 6cm/year.

• Maturity/ Maturation – Maturation is a process, whereas maturity is a state.

Progress also involves maturation. Is the level of a child’s maturity early

(advanced), late (delayed) or average (appropriate or “on time”) for the child’s

chronological age? Children advanced in biological maturity relative to their

 chronological age characteristically progress at a more rapid rate of growth than

do those who are delayed in maturity relative to chronological age and who

progress more slowly.

• Tracking - This refers to the stability of a characteristic, or the maintenance of

relative rank or position within a group, over time.

• Distance (size-attained) curve – This curve is a graphical representation of age-

specific and sex-specific averages of growth characteristics for boys and girls.

They do not portray the wide range of normal individual variability apparent in

any group of children. The pattern of age changes tends to be generally similar in

all children, but the size attained at a given age and the timing of the adolescent

growth spurt varies considerably from child to child.

• Reference data - Reference data, sometimes referred to as norms, are values on

the growth and maturity status of a large sample of healthy children free from

overt disease. When a group of children are studied, they are compared either with

reference data or with other groups of children of the same age and sex.

• Somatic growth. This is growth of the external body organs including skin,

subcutaneous tissue, skeletal muscles and bones.

• Body weight - This is a measure of body mass. However, the term weight is

entrenched in the literature. Therefore, the terms body mass and weights are used

interchangeably throughout this report.

• Stature – This term refers to standing height. It is a linear measurement of the

distance from the floor or standing surface to the top (vertex) of the skull. The two

terms are used interchangeably throughout this report. Stature is a composite of

 linear dimensions contributed by the lower extremities, the trunk, the neck, and

the head.

• Recumbent length - This refers to the length while lying face up in a

standardized position. From birth to age 2 or 3 years, a child’s stature is measured

as recumbent length. As a rule, an individual is longer when lying down than

when standing erect.

• Sitting height – This refers to the height while sitting. It is measured as the

distance from the sitting surface to the top of the head with the child seated in a

standard position. This measure is most valuable when used with stature.

• Leg length (subischial length, or lower extremity length) – This measure refers to

stature minus sitting height. It provides an estimate of length of the lower

extremity (Carr et al., 1993).

• Diurnal variation – This refers to variation of a measurement during the course

of the day. Body weight and stature show diurnal variation (Reilly, Tyrell and

Troup, 1984; Wilby et al., 1985).

• Skeletal Breadths – These are breadth or width measurements ordinarily taken

across specific bone landmarks and therefore provide an indication of the

robustness or sturdiness of the skeleton. Four of the commonly taken skeletal

breadths include biacromial, biiliocristal, humerus and femur breadths.

• Biacromial breadth measures the distance across the right and left acromial

processes of the scapulae and provides an indication of shoulder breadth.

• Biiliocristal breadth measures the distance across the most lateral paths of the

iliac crests and provides an indication of hip breadth.

• Biepicondylar humerus breadth is taken across the epicondyles of the elbow

while

• Biepicondylar femur breadth is a measure of bone breadth across the knee. Both

of these measures provide information on the robustness of the extremity

skeleton.

• Limb Circumference – This refers to a measure of the circumference of the limb

taken at a specific point the limb.

• Skinfold Thickness – This refers to the thickness of a double fold of skin and

underlying subcutaneous tissue, can be picked up and measured at any number

of body sites.

• Somatotype - A somatotype is a classification of physique based on the concept

of shape, disregarding size. The pre-eminent system of somatotype classification

is the Heath-Carter somatotype. This shows the relative dominance of

Endomorphy (relative fatness), Mesomorphy (relative musculo-skeletal

robustness) and Ectomorphy (relative linearity). Each component is identified in

the sequence endomorphy-mesomorphy-ectomorphy and, when

anthropometrically-derived, expressed to the nearest one-tenth rating, e.g, 1.4-

6.0-3.2, an ectomorphic mesomorph, or ecto-mesomorph. Ratings of 2 to 2.5 are

considered low, 3 to 5 are moderate, 5.5 to 7 are high and 7.5 and above are very

high(Carter,1996). The derivation equations for each component are as follows.

 • Anthropometry - Anthropometry is the study of the human body measurement

for use in anthropological classification and comparison. Anthropometry

(anthropos = man, metry = measure) is a set of standardized techniques for

systematically taking measurements of the body and parts of the body, that is, for

quantifying dimensions of the body.

• Kinanthropometry - this is a branch of anthropometry. The most common definition

is the measurement of human size, shape, proportion, composition, maturation and

gross function as related to growth, exercise, performance and nutrition. An

abbreviated definition is “The quantitative interface between anatomy and

physiology, between morphology and physiology, or between structure and function”

(Ross and Marfell-Jones, 1991, Carter and Ackland, 1994; Norton and Olds, 1996).

• Secular trend – this refers to changes in a physical characteristic that occur from one

generation to the next.

Overview of measurements

1.1.2.1 General

The measurements described herein are the traditional dimensions utilized in growth

studies. They provide information on the size of the child as a whole (weight and stature)

and of specific parts and tissues. Skeletal breadths describe the overall robustness of the

skeleton; limb circumferences provide information about relative muscularity, while

skinfold thickness is an indicator of subcutaneous adipose tissue. The specific dimensions

include both the trunk and the extremities. Individuals may be similar in overall body size
and yet can vary in shape, proportions, and tissue distribution. Other dimensions may be

measured, but the choice of measurements depends on the information desired in the

context of a study.

1.1.2.2 Quality Control

Implicit in studies using anthropometry is the assumption that every effort is made to

ensure the accuracy and reliability of measurement and standardization of technique.

Also implicit is the assumption that the measurements are taken by trained individuals.

These conditions are essential to obtain accurate and reliable data and to enhance the

utility of the data from a comparative perspective. Reliable and accurate are especially

critical in serial studies, in which the same child is followed longitudinally over time,

either short-term or long-term, and in the definition of rather small changes may be

necessary and technical errors associated with measurement can mask true changes.

Error is the discrepancy between the measured value and its true quantity. Measurement

error can be systematic or random. Random error is a normal aspect of anthropometry

and results from variation within and between individuals in technique of measurement,

problems with measuring instruments (e.g., calibration or random variation in

manufacture), and errors in recording (e.g., transposition of numbers). Random error is

nondirectional- it may be above or below the true dimension. In large- scale surveys,

random errors tend to cancel each other and ordinarily are not a major concern.

Systematic error, on the other hand, results from the tendency of a technician or a

measuring instrument (e.g., an improperly calibrated skinfold caliper or weighing scale)

to consistently under measure or over measure a particular dimension. Such error is

directional and introduces bias into the data. In addition, the child under observation may

be a source of measurement variability.

Replicate measurements of the same subject are used to estimate variability or error in

measurement. Replicate measurements are taken independently from the same individual

by the same technician after a period of time has lapsed, or they are taken from the same

individual by two different technicians. If the interval between the replicate

measurements is too long (e.g., about 1 month) growth may be a factor that contributes to

the variability within or between technicians. Replicate measurements provide an

estimate of within-technician measurement variability, whereas corresponding

measurements taken on the same subjects by two different individuals provide an

estimate of between-technician measurement variability.

The technical error of measurement (TEM) is a widely used measure of replicability

(Malina et al., 1973). It is defined as the square root of the squared differences of

replicates divided by twice the number of pairs (i.e., the within-subject variance):

σ = √ ∑ d² / 2N

The statistic assumes that the distribution of replicate differences is normal and that errors

of all pairs can be pooled. It indicates that about two-thirds of the time, the measurement

in question should fall within the TEM (Mueller and Martorell, 1988).

Technical errors are reported in the units of the specific measurement. Within-technician

(intra-observer) and between-technician (inter-observer) TEMs for a variety of

anthropometric dimensions in national surveys and several more local studies are

summarized in Malina (1995).

Although the TEM provides an indicator of the replicability of a measurement over a

short interval of time, it may underestimate the true measurement error. Variation within

an individual child is a source of error that may not be captured in replicate

measurements. This source may be the result of normal variation in physiology (for

example, muscle tension) and other factors specific to the child (for instance,

temperament, cooperativeness, and stranger anxiety). This type of error is labeled

undependability (Mueller and Martorell, 1988), and an important component of

undependability is the child factor or the child effect (Lampl et al., 2001).

Accuracy is another component of the measurement process. It refers to how closely

measurements taken by one or several technicians approximate the “true” measurement.

Accuracy is ordinarily assessed by comparing measurements taken by the technician(s)

with those obtained by a well trained or “criterion” Anthropometrist (i.e., the

standard of reference). However, well-trained, expert anthropometrists also make errors.

1.1.2.3 Ratios and Proportions

1.1.2.3.1. General

In addition to providing specific information in their own right, measurements can be

related to each other as indices or ratios. Ratios are influenced by the relationship

between the two dimensions, and the two dimensions are assumed to change in a linear

manner. Ratios may yield spurious results when they are based on different types of
dimensions, such as weight and stature or arm circumference and stature, or when the

standard deviations of the dimensions differ considerably. The ratio may be between

dissimilar (different units) or similar (same unit) measurements.

1.1.2.3.2 Weight and height ratios.

Ratios based on weight and heights have a long tradition in studies of growth and body

build, in studies of undernutrition (low weight-for-height), and in studies of the risk of

overweight and obesity (excess weight-for-height).

1.1.2.3.3 Weight-for-height.

This ratio is commonly used with preadolescent children especially in the context of

severe malnutrition (for example, kwashiorkor and marasmus) as soft tissues that

constitute body weight (largely muscle and fat) are wasted. The same occurs in

individuals with anorexia nervosa, a severe eating disorder related to the fear of

becoming fat. Weight-for- stature is also used in the context of overweight. Youngsters

who are overweight have a high weight-for-stature; the excess weight is related to

fatness. However, not all children with excess weight-for-stature are fat, because muscle

mass and other nonfat tissues may contribute to the increase in weight relative to stature.

This increase is related to body composition.

During the adolescent growth spurt, the relationship between stature and weight is

temporarily changed. The growth spurt occurs, on the average, first in stature and then in

weight, so the relationship between the two measurements is altered. After growth has

ceased, weight-for-stature is once again a useful index.

1.1.2.3.4 Other weight-height ratios

Sometimes weight is simply expressed relative to height, or either height or weight is

adjusted to account for the relationship between the two measurements. The adjustment

has taken several forms, for example, weight divided by height squared (weight/height²,

the body mass index, BMI or Quetelet index), height divided by the cube root of

weight (height/ ³√weight, the height-weight ratio, HWR or reciprocal Ponderal

index).

Except for ratios of weight and height, the ratios described subsequently are based on

similar measurements (e.g., two lengths or two skeletal breadths). These ratios are

ordinarily calculated by dividing the larger measurement into the smaller measurement.

These ratios provide information on shape and proportions. Three ratios commonly used

in growth studies are weight-for-stature, sitting height/stature and shoulder-hip ratios.

1.1.2.3.5 Sitting height/stature ratio

This is the next most widely used ratio in growth studies. It is calculated as:

(Sitting height/stature) x 100

This ratio, also known as the Skelic index (Meredith, 1979; Monyeki, Pienaar and de

Ridder, 1997; Kekana and Monyeki, 1998), provides an estimate of relative trunk length.

It basically asks the question: what percentage of height while standing is accounted for

by height while sitting? By subtraction, the remaining percentage is accounted for by the

lower extremities. Of two children with same stature, one may have a Skelic index of
54% and the other 51%. In the first child, sitting height accounts for 54% of stature, and

by subtraction, the lower extremities account for 46%. This child is said to have relatively

short legs-for-stature. In contrast, sitting height account for 51% of stature in the second

child, and by subtraction, the legs account for 49%. The second child has relatively long

legs-for-stature compared with the first child.

1.1.2.3.6 Shoulder-Hip Relationships

The ratio of biiliocristal to biacromial breadths is also used in growth studies. It relates

the breadths of the hips (lower trunk) to that of the shoulders (upper trunk):

(Biiliocristal breadth/biacromial breadth) x 100

This ratio (also known as Androgyny Index) illustrates proportional changes in shoulder

and hip relationships, which become especially apparent during adolescence. Shoulder-

hip relationships also vary among young athletes in several sports (e.g., track and field,

gymnastics and water sports). Young athletes in these sports generally have

proportionally wider shoulders compared to their hips, and female athletes tend to have

proportionally wider shoulders than non-athletes.

1.1.2.3.7 Other Ratios

Ratios of skinfold thickness measured on the trunk and extremities are often used to

estimate relative subcutaneous adipose tissue distribution. The ratio of waist and hip

circumferences is also used as an indicator of relative adipose tissue distribution,

although muscle and skeletal structures also contribute to the hip girth measurement.

Waist circumference by itself is primarily an indicator of adipose tissue in the abdominal

area. The waist-hip ratio is often used with adults, but it has limited validity as an

indicator of relative adipose tissue distribution in children and adolescents.

1.1.3 Growth in Stature and Body Weight

Stature and weight are the most commonly used measurements in growth studies. Both

dimensions are often routinely measured on a regular basis (e.g., in hospitals, schools and

sports clubs to monitor growth status and progress).

From birth to early adulthood, both stature and weight tend to follow a four-phase

growth pattern: rapid gain in infancy and early childhood, rather steady gain in

middle childhood, rapid gain during the adolescent spurt, and slow increase until

growth ceases with the attainment of adult stature. Body weight, however, usually

continues to increase into adult life.

The results of several studies from around the world suggest that both sexes tend to

follow the same course of growth. Sex differences before the adolescent spurt are usually

consistent although minor. Boys, on the average, tend to be taller and heavier than girls.

During the early part of the adolescent spurt, girls are temporarily taller and heavier

because of their earlier growth spurt. Girls soon lose the size advantage as the adolescent

spurt of boys occurs; boys catch up with and eventually surpass girls in body size, on the

average. Given the normal range of individual variation, overlap exists between the sexes
throughout growth and in young adulthood. Hence, some girls are taller and heavier than

most boys at virtually all ages.

Reference Data and Growth Charts

Distance curves are commonly used for assessing the growth status of a single child or a

sample of children. In making such assessments, the size attained by a child or the

average size of a group of children is compared and evaluated relative to growth data

derived from a large sample of healthy children free from overt disease. These data are

referred to as reference data. They are points of reference in assessing the growth status

of a child or a group of children. The World Health Organization (1995) defines a

reference “… as a tool for grouping and analyzing data and provides a common basis for

comparing populations”. Reference values are not standards. A standard is prescriptive

and suggests the way things ought to be, and, as such it has an associated value judgment.

Reference values are used.

Reference data are most often presented in the form of several curves representing

different percentiles to accommodate the range of normal variability among children of

the age. Percentiles of reference data are smooth and ranges are quite broad. Growth

charts used in the United States include the 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentile

while those used in the United Kingdom and South Africa include the 3rd and 97th

percentiles in the list.

The growth charts for the United States (U.S.) children are based on national surveys that

have been regularly conducted since the 1960s. The surveys are based on complex,

multistage stratified sampling procedures that result in the selection of a sample that is

representative of the noninstitutionalized civilian population. The National Health

Examination Survey (NHES II and NHES III, 1963-1970), the National and Nutrition

Examination Survey, NHANES I (1971-1974) and NHANES II (1976-1980) included

adequate numbers of children and adolescents of Black (African American) and White

(European American) ancestry. NHANES III (1988-1994) over sampled African

Americans and Mexican Americans compared with their numbers in the total population

of the U.S. in 1990. Since 1999, NHANES has become a continuous survey; the first 2

years of NHANES data collection (1999-2000) have been used to evaluate changes in

overweight among American children and adolescents (Ogden et al., 2002) and adults

(Flegal et al., 2002).

In constructing growth charts for American children, data from the different ethnic groups

were combined for two reasons. First, the differences in stature among Blacks, whites,

and Mexican Americans was rather small and, second, the sample sizes for each ethnic

group are not satisfactory to meet the statistical requirements for empirically deriving the

percentiles at the extremes of the distribution (Roche et al., 1996). In addition, it is not

clear whether the apparent growth differences among the three ethnic groups were

genetic. Given the ethnic heterogeneity of the American population, ethnic- specific

growth charts were not warranted.

Secular trends
The attainment of larger size and the acceleration of maturation over several generations

are collectively labeled as the secular trend. In this context, the secular trend actually

includes several trends- increase in height and weight during childhood and adolescence,

reduction in the age at menarche and ages at attaining other indicators of biological

maturity, and increase in adult stature- that have occurred over several generations in

Europe and Japan and in areas of the world largely inhabited by populations of European

ancestry (United States, Canada and Australia). The time at which secular changes are

evident in different populations varies in part because of the limited availability of

satisfactory data for earlier samples in some populations and because of differential rates

of improvement in health and nutritional circumstances that underlie improvements in

growth and maturity status.

Secular trends are complex phenomena that reflect the remarkable sensitivity, or

plasticity, of the processes of growth and maturation to the environmental conditions

under which children and adolescents are reared.

Secular trends may be positive, negative or absent. For instance, the observation that

children today are, on average, taller and heavier and mature earlier than children of

several generations ago indicates a positive secular trend. On the other hand, in some

parts of the developing world, children and adults are shorter than those of a generation

or two ago, or girls attaining menarche later, indicating a negative secular trend (Tobias,

1985). Lack of change in size or age at menarche over several generations indicates the

absence of a secular trend, which reflects different situations (Malina, Bouchard and Bar-

Or, 2004).
Secular trends are not universal and have been shown to be reversible. This is especially

evident in times of war. The positive secular trend in the heights of children and

adolescents have been temporarily stopped and even reversed in some countries during

World Wars I and II in Europe (van Wieringen, 1986) and during World War II in Japan

(Takaishi, 1995; Ali and Ohtsuki, 2000). When conditions improved after the wars,

positive secular changes in height resumed. More recent examples of the reversibility of

secular trends are apparent in the slightly later ages at menarche during the period of

social and political change after the collapse of the Soviet dominated communist system

in Poland in the 1980s (Hulanicka et al., 1993) and during the war conditions that

characterized the political breakup of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s (Prebeg and

Bralic, 2000).

Socioeconomic status

The socioeconomic position or status has been defined as the relative position of a family

or individual in a social structure, based on their access to scarce and valued resources

such as education, wealth and prestige (adapted from Western, 1983). Three broad

conceptualizations of socioeconomic position or background (social class, socioeconomic

status and disadvantage) have been discussed at length in the sociological, educational,

medical and health literature. An overview of the major issues which have a bearing on

the conceptualization of the socioeconomic position of schoolchildren, has been

presented in a number of general papers on the history of, and current approaches to, the

conceptualization of social class and socioeconomic status (Western, 1993; Graetz,

1995a; Jones and McMillan, 2000) while the conceptualization of socioeconomic

background in educational contexts has been discussed at length in relation to schooling

(Graetz, 1995b) and higher education (McMillan and Western, 2000; Western et al.,

1998).

Several studies have been published in central Europe (Farkas, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982,

1986; Eiben, 1989, 1994; Eiben et al 1991; Romon et al., 2005), the United States (Adler

et al., 1994; Adler and Ostrove,1999; Averett and Korenman,1999; Lohman et al., 2000;

Mayer et al., 2005; Rouse and Barrow, 2006), the United Kingdom (Townsend et al.,

1998; Saxena et al., 2004; Wardle et al.,2003, 2004, 2005, 2006), the Meditteranean

(Garcia et al., 1993; Rebato et al, 2003), Australia (Norgan, 1994; Marks et al., 2000;

Adams et., 2002) central Asia (Leung et al., 1996; Ahmed et al., 1998; de Onis et al.,

2001; Wang, 2001), Latin America ( Spurr et al., 1983; Delgado and Hurtado, 1990;

Martinez et al., 1993) and Africa (Toriola, 1990; Cameron, 1992; Simondon et al., 1997;

Benefice et al., 1999; Pawloski, 2002; Gillett and Tobias, 2002; Prista et al., 2003; Brabin

et al., 1997, 2003) that analyze and demonstrate the relationship between environmental

factors such as nutrition, energy expenditure associated with physical work and the

sociocultural lifestyle and the adolescent child’s physical development. Many of them

suggest that remarkable differences in body dimensions and maturity status may exist

between children when their social background is dissimilar. When material resources

available to the family are ample, the children are often taller and heavier and reach their

respective stages of maturity at a younger age than their less privileged peers. One of the

probable mechanisms through which these environmental factors may exert their

influence the physique could be energy balance regulation.

In studying these aspects, research often considers factors that have been shown to reflect

the socio-economic status of the parents reliably (Townsend et al., 1998; Wardle et al.,

2003). Previously employed indicators include parental level of education (Cesaroni et

al., 2003; Michel et al., 2006; Hagquist, 2007), parental profession or occupation

(Vrijheid et al., 2000; Halldórsson et al., 2002; Wright and Parker, 2004), family size

(Wright, 2000; Blair et al., 2004; Khang and Kim, 2005), per-capita income (Woodroffe

et al., 1993; Pattenden et al., 1999; Vrijheid et al., 2000; Alvarez-Dardet and Ashton,

2005;), the grade of provision with modern conveniences of the habitat (Cooper et al.,

1998; Saxena and Majeed, 1999; Saxena et al., 2002), the settlement’s level of

urbanization and the number of inhabitants living in the community (Office of

Population, Censuses and Surveys. 1993; Forrester et al., 1996; Office for National

Statistics, 2002), the level of health care and access to medical services (Newton and

Goldacre, 1994; Roland et al., 1996;Department of Health, 2001; Hippisley-Cox et al.,

2002; Office for National Statistics, 2002; Petrou and Kupek, 2005).

The socio-economic status of the family is often reflected in the type of school attended

by the children in the family ((McMurray et al., 2002; Wardle et al., 2006 etc).

Economically advantaged families often prefer fee-paying, private school to minimal fee-

paying public school because the former tend to be better funded to provide adequate

educational facilities and a good learning environment (Heckman and Lochner,

2000; Vegeris and Perry, 2003;US Department of Education NCES-2005). Furthermore,

the discriminatory tendency in the funding pattern of public schools in various countries

has been well documented (Hedges et al., 1989, 1994; Hanushek 1996; Ellwood and

Kane 2000; Krueger, 2003; Adelman et al., 2003) and is a reflection of

institutionalized social class as well as the inequalities and disadvantage consequent for

the poorer segments of the society. Socioeconomic disadvantage has been measured in

epidemiological studies by both individual indicators (education, occupation, house

ownership, quality and amenities, income) and by area-based indicators which are indices

based on an array of social characteristics of residential areas drawn from census data or

aggregate income (Krieger et al., 1997; Geronimus and Bound, 1998; Geyer and Peter,

2000). This would have implications for the attainment of the full educational,

psychological and physical growth potential of the adolescent child (Barrow and Rouse,

2004; Spencer, 2005). Although different by definition, social class and socioeconomic

status are closely intertwined (Graetz 1995a; Jones & McMillan 2000; Western 1993).

However, their combined roles in influencing the health and growth status of children

especially in Africa is more readily apparent because the public welfare institutions

expected to provide the social support services that could ameliorate the effects of social

inequality are either moribund or non-existent (Spencer et al., 1999; Marks et al., 2000;

Snyder et al., 2003; Hanushek et al., 2005). In several countries, attempts have been made

to address this problem comprehensively but differ in specific actions or in the focus of

their educational reforms (Rouse, 1997; Marks et al., 2000; Howell and Peterson, 2002;

Mullis et al., 2002; Bifulco and Ladd, 2004; Hanushek et al., 2005). Two options,

decentralization of the school system and free school choice, have become a part of the

global trend in educational reform (Chapman, 1996; Gonnie van Amelsvoort and

Scheerens, 1997). The methods used have varied with the countries (Liberatos et al.,

1988; Durkin et al., 1994; Statistics Norway, 1984), with the age group of children

(Mueller and Parcel, 1981; Anderssen, 1995; Currie et al., 1997) and with the nature of
study (Abramson, 1982). Some studies measured or classified the socioeconomic status

of schools for the purposes of government-funding of public and privately-owned schools

(DETYA, 1999; Marks et al., 2000; Rouse and Barrow, 2006). Commonly- adopted

procedures include such parameters as the facilities provided by the school (Hedges et al.,

1994; Hanushek, 1996; Snyder et al., 2003; Aaronson et al., 2005) and the demographic

characteristics of its geographical location (Australia Board of Studies 1990, 1994, 1998).

Sometimes the classification may be census-based (Ross, 1983; Ross et al., 1988)

wherein the process is integrated into the country’s national demographic survey (Linke

et. al. 1988; Western et. al. 1998). In other situations, it has been determined by the

socioeconomic status of the parents of the schoolchildren (Chen et al., 2006). Some

authorities recommend that the socioeconomic status of the parental breadwinner only or

the entire family income (Morris et al., 2004; Dahl and Lochner, 2005) or a scored-index

representing the combination of a number of criteria (Graetz 1995; Townsend et al., 1988;

DETYA, 1998; Wardle et al., 2002) be used to determine the socioeconomic status for the

study. Other authorities have considered the characteristics of the school only as an

adequate indicator of the socio-economic status of the study children, thereby avoiding

the intrusiveness often associated with trying to obtain accurate information about a

family’s wealth (Finn and Achilles, 1990; Angrist and Lavy, 1999; DETYA, 1999; Hoxby,

2000; Snyder et al., 2003). Sometimes the information has been obtained from the child’s

self-reporting of father’s income (Looker, 1989; West et al., 2001; Lien et al., 2001). The

non-uniformity of the classification systems is further complicated by confounding issues

such as misclassification of individuals and schools due to assumed homogeneity of the

population characteristics (Western, 1988; Starfield et al., 2002). Whichever method is

adopted the principle has been that proper validation would be required in the context of

the specific study (Starfield, 1985; Ainley & Marks 1999; DETYA, 1999; Janssen et al.,

2006). A review of relevant literature from different regions of Africa (Pawloski, 2002;

Prista et al., 2003) and Nigeria (Omololu et al., 1981; Brabin et al., 1997; Abidoye and

Nwachie, 2001) suggests that usually it is the minimal criteria that have been adopted

among the adolescent age group.

The Nigeria DHS EdData Survey (2004), jointly published by the National Populations

Commission of Nigeria (NPC) and the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with

ORC Macro of Calverton, Maryland, USA and the United States Agency for International

Development (USAID) presents health and demography data for the Nigerian population

based on the 1991 Census data. In accordance with the WHO recommendation,

anthropometric measurements were taken to derive three nutritional status indices

including: height-for-age, weight-for-age and height-for-weight. These data for Nigerian

schoolchildren have been compared with the international reference population defined

by the US National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) and accepted by the Center for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Each of the status indices has been expressed in

standard deviation units (z-scores). The use of this reference population was based on the

finding that well-nourished children from all populations (where data exist) follow very

similar growth patterns up to the onset of puberty (Drake et al., 2002; Partnership for

Child Development, 2000). Consequently, the NDES has not used data for children older

than 9 years 11 months. The age range of the current dissertation is from 9 years 6

months to 16 years 6 months.

Somatotype

A somatotype is a classification of physique based on the concept of shape, disregarding

size. The pre-eminent system of somatotype classification is the Heath-Carter

somatotype. This shows the relative dominance of Endomorphy (relative fatness),

Mesomorphy (relative musculo-skeletal robustness) and Ectomorphy (relative linearity).

Each component is identified in the sequence endomorphy-mesomorphy-ectomorphy

and, when anthropometrically-derived, expressed to the nearest one-tenth rating, e.g, 1.4-

6.0-3.2, an ectomorphic mesomorph, or ecto-mesomorph. Ratings of 2 to 2.5 are

considered low, 3 to 5 are moderate, and 5.5 to 7 are high and 7.5 and above are very

high (Carter, 1996).

Kinanthropometry

Kinanthropometry is a scientific specialization in exercise science that has brought

specialists from human anatomy, human biology, physical anthropology, physical

education, exercise physiology, sports science, sports medicine, and nutrition, pediatrics,

gerontology, cardiology, respiratory medicine, neurology, orthopedics and several other

medical disciplines into close alliance. Thus, its scope and applications are broad (Carter,

1996).

Kinanthropometry deals with the measurement of humans in a variety of morphological

perspectives, its application to movement, and those factors which influence movement,

including: components of body build, body measurements, proportions, composition,

shape, and maturation, motor abilities and cardiorespiratory capacities, physical activity

including recreational activity as well as highly specialized sports performance.

Ross (1978) presented an elegant overview of the specialization. The definition of size

includes the measurement of absolute dimensions of the body, both external and internal;

shape refers to the assessment of the form of the body; proportion refers to the relative

size or relationship of body parts of one another or to the whole body; composition

includes the assessment of the various tissues, fluids and compartments of the body;

maturation refers to the assessment of the biological age or maturity status of the person;

and gross function includes performance in sports, events, tasks, occupation or fitness

tests. Although kinanthropometrists often examine the technology within one of the

above areas, a kinanthropometric study would have at least one element of morphology

or structure along with gross motor performance or application in one of the areas of

growth, exercise, performance or nutrition.

Uses of Kinanthropometry

Kinanthropometric measurements, when analyzed statistically, may be utilized in a wide

variety of ways including: somatotyping, fractionation of body mass into bone, muscle,

fat and residual components, body proportionality estimates, prediction of body density

and composition, determination of chronological and biological age, assessment of

nutritional status and monitoring of nutrition interventions, assessment of growth patterns

and estimation of growth indices in children and the youth, prediction and assessment of

adult stature, prediction of performance, health and survival in the general population,

assessment and monitoring of lifestyle- related illnesses, monitoring of athletic

development and performance, comparison between national and international sample

groups, physical anthropological classification of population groups, guiding public

health policy and clinical decisions, design of office and home furniture, design of shoes

and garments, design of orthopedic and physiotherapy aids and gadgetry, design of indoor

and outdoor fitness and wellness equipment, management of life insurance policies and

production and revalidation of reference values, (Astrand and Rodahl, 1970; Ross and

Marfell-Jones, 1991; Amusa, Igbanugo and Toriola, 1998).

Anthropometric assessment protocols

The protocols for specific measurements have been discussed in Lohman et al. (1988),

Ross and Marfell-Jones (1991), and Norton and Olds (1996). Anthropometry depends

upon strict adherence to particular rules of measurement as determined by national and

international standards bodies. Anthropometry is a very old science, and like many old

sciences, has followed a variety of paths. The diversity of anthropometric paths is both its

richness as well as its bane. One of the consequences of multiple anthropometric

traditions has been the lack of standardization in the identification of measurement sites,

and in measuring techniques. This has made comparison across time and space extremely

difficult.

In the year 2001, the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry

(ISAK) published its reference manual, International Standards for Anthropometric

Assessment, as a practical tool for use in teaching, in the laboratory and in the field.

Derived in a large part from a previous, well- recognized standard, Chapter 2 of

Anthropometrica, edited by Norton and Olds (1996) as well as from a series of classic

textbooks and congress reports generated throughout the 20th century, this reference

manual was developed over a period of five years after extensive consultation within its
Executive council, with all ISAK Criterion Anthropometrists and many ISAK Level 3

anthropometrists. It is an update on all the protocols currently in use for anthropometry

worldwide. It was endorsed by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) and the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa (SCSA) for use

during the 8th All-Africa Games in Abuja, Nigeria (October 4- 18, 2003) by the Nigeria

All-Africa Games Kinanthropometry Project (NAAGKiP) Research Team, that obtained

kinanthropometric data from the elite athletes competing at those Games.

The anthropometric sites and measurement procedures preferred for the current study are

those based the international standards recommended by ISAK.

These measurements provide a comprehensive description of the kinanthropometric data,

which could be used to derive additional computations such as: estimates of relative body

fat (using a large number of prediction equations), estimates of bone, muscle, adipose and

residual masses using fractionation of body mass techniques (Drinkwater and Ross, 1980;

Kerr, 1992), calculation of skeletal mass and skeletal muscle mass by various methods

(Martin et al., 1990; Martin, 1991; Janssen et al., 2000; Lee et al., 2000).

CHAPTER TWO

2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1.1 Growth Studies: Sources of Data

A review of the history of the study of growth suggests that the earliest published work

on the subject was based on data generated from North America and Europe. A detailed

account was published in Origins of the Study of Human Growth, (Boyd, 1980), and A

History of the Study of Human Growth, (Tanner, 1981). Boyd (1980) was based on the

unfinished manuscripts of Richard Scammon, which were first reported in 1923 in the

11th edition of Morris’ Anatomy and subsequently republished in his 1930 Sigma XI

lecture (Scammon, 1930). Boyd (1980) considered early discussions of the life cycle

(including description of prenatal and postnatal stages) from antiquity to 1700 and then

more specific studies of growth in Europe and North America from 1700 to 1940. Tanner

(1981) briefly considered the ancient world, the middle Ages, and the Renaissance and

then presented a comprehensive discussion of growth studies from the 18th century

through the major North American and European longitudinal studies.

Earlier reports provide an excellent background to the relatively long history of the study

of growth in Europe and the United States. Meredith (1936) reviewed American research

on growth of children before 1900, and Krogman (1941) provided a comprehensive

compilation of European and North American growth studies before 1940, focusing

primarily on data from the 1920s and 1930s. The compilation also included several

studies of active youth and of motor performance. Krogman (1950, 1955) also presented

a syllabus of concepts and techniques for the study of growth, including motor skills,

which was followed by a summary of related literature published between 1950 and

1955. Meredith (1969, 1971, and 1987) also reported summaries of data from different
areas of the world dealing with specific body dimensions in specific age groups between

birth and adulthood.

Roche and Malina (1983) provide detailed tabular summaries for a variety of indicators

of growth and maturity in North American since 1940 in a two-volume compendium,

Manual of Physical Status and Performance in childhood. Eveleth and Tanner’s (1990)

Worldwide Variation in Human Growth is a compendium of data on growth and

maturation from many regions of the world and also includes a discussion of factors that

influence these processes.

Longitudinal Studies of Growth and Maturation

2.1.2.1 United States Studies. Several longitudinal studies were begun in the United

States in the 1920s and early 1930s: the Harvard School of Public Health in the Boston

area; the Brush Foundation Study at the Western Reserve University (now Case Western

Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio; the Fels Research Institute in Yellow Springs, in

south-central Ohio (now a part of the Wright State University School of Medicine); the

Child Research Council in Denver, Colorado; and the Guidance Study of the University

of California at Berkeley (Tanner 1948, 1981). These major United States studies

included children between 11 and 17 years of age (Espenschade, 1940; Jones, 1949).

Two more recent American longitudinal studies of growth took a different approach than

the traditional studies. The first was based on a longitudinal series of about 340 middle-

class girls from Newton, Massachusetts, followed from 9 or 10 years of age to young

adulthood. The study was begun in 1965 and included stature and weight and age at

menarche. This study is unique in that the data were reported by the mothers of the girls
in questionnaires sent at monthly or 6-week intervals. The reported data were

supplemented by semiannual or annual height and weight measurements made by the

physical education department of the local school system, beginning when the girls were

5 or 6 years of age. Measurements of growth and maturity that span childhood and

adolescence provide the basis for many longitudinal analyses. Other growth studies, some

of which of which included a longitudinal component, were carried out since 1917 at the

Iowa Child Welfare Research Station at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The

Philadelphia Center (now the W.M. Krogman Center) for Research in Child Growth at

the University of Pennsylvania carried out a mixed- longitudinal study of school-age

American Black (African American) and White (European American) children from the

late 1940s through the late 1960s (Krogman, 1970).

Many of the subjects of the Fels study were followed into adulthood in a series of studies

that continues at present (Roche, 1992). Data from the Fels and Harvard studies are also

being analyzed in the context of tracking of fatness and other risk factors for disease from

childhood into adulthood and tracking of precursors of morbidity and mortality in

adulthood (Casey et al., 1992; Must et al., 1992; Guo et al., 1994).

In addition to the Guidance Study at the University of California, a second study, the

Adolescent Growth Study of children in Oakland, California, was conducted. This study

included measurements of strength and motor performance of children and adolescents

age (Zacharias and Rand, 1983). The second study, the Harvard Six Cities Study, is part

of an examination of the health effects of indoor and outdoor pollution on children from

six regions of the United States (localities in Massachusetts, Tennessee, Ohio, Missouri,
Wisconsin and Kansas). Annual examinations included height and weight measurements,

in addition to spirometry, a measure of lung function (Berkey et al., 1993).

2.1.2.2 European Studies. After the initial series of longitudinal studies in the United

States, the emphasis on longitudinal growth studies shifted to Europe. The Harpenden

Growth Study in the suburbs of London was begun in 1948 and included measurements

of size, physique, body composition and maturation (Tanner, 1981). The setting for the

study was a children’s home. Before entering the home, most of the children had

probably lived under socially disadvantageous conditions. However, the children were

well cared for at the home and lived in relatively small cottages or family groups.

The Harpenden Growth Study was followed by a series of longitudinal studies in several

European cities that were begun in the mid-1950s. The studies were coordinated by the

International Children’s Center in Paris and included separate longitudinal samples in

Brussels, London, Paris, Stockholm and Zurich (Tanner, 1981). These studies focused

primarily on growth and maturation from birth through adolescence. Another European

longitudinal study, independent of those coordinated by the International Children’s

Center, was the Wroclaw Growth Study in southwestern Poland, which was begun in

1961. A large cohort of boy and girls was followed from 8 to 18 years of age (Bielicki

and Waliszko, 1975; Waliszko and Jedlinska, 1976). The study also focused primarily on

measures of growth and maturation.

Some other European studies require mention. Height, weight, and secondary sexual

characteristics of about 700 urban schoolchildren from several centers in Sweden were

monitored from 10-16 years of age in girls and from 10-18 years in boys between 1964
and 1971 (Lindgren, 1979). In a similar study, about 1400 schoolchildren in Newcastle-

upon- Tyne, England, were followed from 9 to 17 years of age beginning in 1971

(Billewicz et al., 1983). The variables included measures of growth and secondary sex

characteristics. In both studies, children were examined twice a year at approximately

half-yearly intervals.

Two generally similar longitudinal studies were begun in the Netherlands in the 1970s,

the Nijmegen Growth Study (Prahl-Andersen et al., 1979) and the Study of the Growth

and Health of Teenagers in Amsterdam (Kemper, 1995). The Amsterdam Study includes

measurements of growth, maturity, motor performance, aerobic power and habitual

physical activity and also continues into adulthood with a cohort of males and females

followed at about 21, 27 and 30 years of age. A sampling procedure that allows for the

proportionate representation of the ethnic African and Caribbean communities resident in

this particularly multicultural metropolis makes the study quite unique. This effort later

inspired the commencement, in South Africa, of the Ellisras Longitudinal Study in 1996,

the first of its kind in sub- Saharan Africa (Monyeki et al., 1999).

2.1.2.3 Risk Factors for Disease in Longitudinal Studies. Given concern for coronary

heart disease in adults, several relatively recent studies have focused on the development

of risk factors for coronary heart disease (e.g., high levels of serum lipids with abnormal

lipoprotein profile, hypertension and obesity) in children and youth. Coronary heart

disease is one the leading causes of death in North American adults, and many of the risk

factors for the disease develop during childhood (Berenson, 1986; Kannel et al., 1995).

Several studies have attempted to track or follow the development of risk factors during
childhood and adolescence; the studies thus have a longitudinal component. These studies

include, for example, the Bogalusa Heart Study of black and White children in Louisiana

(Berenson et al., 1995), the Muscatine Study of primarily White Iowa school children

(Lauer et al., 1993), and the Cincinnati Lipid Research Clinic’s study of Black and White

children in the Princeton school district (Morrison et al., 1979). The studies were begun

in the 1970s and include a variety of coronary heart disease risk factors in addition to

measures of growth and maturation.

The studies so far described all include a longitudinal component, but given the logistical

problems encountered in doing such studies and the relatively large data sets involved,

the studies are basically mixed-longitudinal. Results of the longitudinal and mixed-

longitudinal components of these are used subsequently to illustrate patterns of growth,

maturation and the range of normal variation inherent in any group of children.

2.1.2.4 African Studies

Omololu et al. (1981) reported a transverse- longitudinal study of heights and weights of

children in a Nigerian village. In May 1996, the University of the North, Sovenga, in the

Northern Province of South Africa, initiated a longitudinal study in the Ellisras rural

community in the Northern Province (now Limpopo Province) of South Africa. This

study examined physical growth patterns, nutritional status and socioeconomic indices of

rural children. Three years later, the Vrije University, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands,

joined the project and then other lifestyle related parameters such as blood pressure, 24-

hours recall of nutritional intake of children and oral glucose tolerance test were included

in the project (Monyeki, 2003). Subsequently, a 3-year prospective study on high levels
of habitual physical activity in West African adolescent girls and relationship to

maturation, growth, and nutritional status, was reported from Senegal (Benefice, Garnier

and Ndiaye, 2003).

2.1.3. Cross-sectional Surveys of Growth and Maturation.

2.1.3.1. General Overview. In addition to the longitudinal studies, a variety of cross-

sectional studies provide important information. These studies include several national

surveys. For example, nationwide surveys of height, weight and sexual maturation of

Dutch children in the Netherlands were conducted in 1955, 1965 and 1980 (Roede and

van Wieringen, 1985). In Western Australia, the Busselton Survey is a population survey

that has been held every three years in the Perth metropolitan area and rural Busselton

since the 1970s. In 1994-1995 a re-survey was held of all past participants and 8,502

attended. The measurements included stature, body weight, skinfolds, limb and trunk

circumferences and blood pressure. The significance of this survey is that financial

constraints have precluded the employment of full-time staff for data collection and is,

therefore, done by unpaid lay volunteers (Adams et al., 2002).

Since the 1960s, the United States National Center for Health Statistics has conducted

national surveys on a regular basis. Most of the surveys include height and weight, and

several include a more extensive series of body measurements. These national surveys are

unique in that all of them use a sampling design that permits estimates for the total United

States population or for specific ethnic groups. Data from the United States national

surveys provide the basis for charts of height, weight and other dimensions or indices that

are used to assess the growth status of children and adolescents around the world.
2.1.3.2. African Studies. A number of studies have examined stature and weight in

selected populations, as well as growth and development in children. Tobias (1975),

working in South Africa, summarized adult stature from 123 samples and noted that there

was no secular trend. However, a reduced sexual dimorphism did exist with respect to

stature in African populations compared to Europeans. More recent studies by other

groups in South Africa led by Cameron (Cameron, 1984, 1991, 1992; Cameron et al.,

1992; Cameron and Getz, 1997; Monyeki, 1999, 2000; Monyeki et al., 1999, Monyeki et

al., 2000) and Walker (Walker et al., 1979; Walker et al., 1989; Walker et al., 1990) have

compared rural and urban communities in addition to examining various body

composition parameters such as obesity, body fat patterning, lipidemias and other risk

factors for adult diseases. Other more recent cross-sectional studies include the

prevalence and severity of malnutrition and age at menarche among adolescent

schoolgirls in western Kenya (Leenstra et al., 2005), a cross-cultural comparison of

growth, maturation and adiposity indices of two contrasting adolescent populations in

rural Senegal (West Africa) and Martinique (Caribbean) (Benefice, Caius and Garnier,

2004), the nutritional status, growth and sleep habits among Senegalese adolescent girls

(Benefice, Garnier and Ndiaye, 2004), the impact of the health and living conditions of

migrant and non-migrant Senegalese adolescent girls on their nutritional status and

growth (Garnier et al., 2003), and the timing of reproductive maturation in rural versus

urban Tonga and Zambia boys (Campbell, Gillett-Netting and Meloy, 2004). Several

other studies including the influence of urban migration on physical activity, nutritional

status and growth of Senegalese adolescents of rural origin

(Garnier, Ndiaye and Benefice, 2003), have related growth to performance and physical

activity.

2.1.3.3. Nigerian Studies. The profile of growth studies conducted in Nigeria is not very

illustrious. The earliest known report of any related study was that of the prevalence of

obesity among Nigerian school children living in the Abeokuta metropolis in southwest

Nigeria by Akesode and Ajibode (1983). Other reports are few and far between. Owa and

Adejuyigbe (1997) reported a comparison of measurements of fat mass, fat mass

percentage, body mass index and mid-upper arm circumference taken by anthropometric

and bioelectric impedance techniques in a healthy population of Nigerian school children

aged 5-15 years resident in Ile- Ife, also in Southwest Nigeria. More recent studies by

Ansa et al. (2001) examined the profile of body mass index and obesity in Nigerian

children and adolescents aged 6-18 years resident in Calabar, in the deep-south Nigerian

region, while the freshly published report on the body composition of normal and

malnourished children aged 3-11 years in the Niger Delta region by Eboh and Boye

(2005) has given an indication of current research directions. However, since the pioneer

efforts of Toriola and Igbokwe (1985) in determining the relationship between perceived

physique and somatotype characteristics of 10-18 year old boys and girls resident in

Iseyin in rural southwest Nigeria, only the singular report by Owolabi and Makpu (1994)

on the body composition and somatotype of “professional” Nigerian division one male

soccer and basketball players have been cited in the literature regarding the study of the

shape and physique of Nigerian children and youth. These observations, therefore,
underscore the depth of the inadequacy of information regarding the growth, maturation,

physical and nutritional status among Nigerians.

Cross- Sectional Surveys of Performance and Physical Activity.

The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation (1976) has

conducted national surveys of the motor fitness of American school-age children in 1958,

1965, and 1975, and the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport (Reiff et al.,

1986) conducted a similar survey in 1985. National surveys of the health-related physical

fitness of children 6 to 9 and 10 to 17 years of age, respectively, the first and second

National Children and Youth Fitness Surveys, were conducted in 1984 and 1986 (Pate

and Shephard, 1989). Motor fitness focuses on performance in a variety of tasks, whereas

health-related fitness focuses on indicators of cardiovascular fitness, strength, flexibility,

and fatness. The National Children and Youth Fitness Surveys also included indicators of

habitual physical activity. The Canadian Fitness Survey (1985), carried out in 1981,

included measurements of physical activity, body size, fatness, physical performance and

physical activity for a nationally representative sample of children and youth. A sub-

sample of the Canada Fitness Survey was measured again 7 years later (Stephens and

Craig, 1990).

The Africa Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance

(AFAHPER-SD), modeled after the pattern of the American Alliance, organized its first

Africa Regional Conference on Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance

(ARCPHERD), in October 1994 at Gaborone, Botswana. The proceeding of the

conference was published in the same year as “Health, Physical Education, Recreation
and Dance in Africa” (Amusa, 1994). Subsequently, the African Journal for Physical,

Health Education, Recreation and Dance (AJPHERD), a peer-reviewed biennial

publication of the association, was established. The first issue of this journal was released

in April 1995. The journal has since become a cornerstone in the literature and an

arrowhead in the advancement of kinanthropometry and growth research in Africa, in

particular, through its numerous and regular publications, frequently contributed by

frontline researchers worldwide.

Another significant direct consequence of the Gaborone meeting was the establishment of

the All- Africa Games Kinanthropometry Project (AAGKiP) by top researchers from all

over Africa based in Southern Africa. Work commenced in October 1995 at the 6th All-

Africa Games held in Harare, Zimbabwe during which the kinanthropometric

characteristics of the elite Africa athletes participating at those Games were profiled. This

was the first of its kind anywhere in Africa, by African researchers on African athletes.

The Supreme Council for Sport in Africa (SCSA) endorsed the project. It was modeled

after the protocols used to assess athletes attending the Olympic Games, beginning in

1928, and later modified by Carter and his colleagues at the Montreal Olympics in 1976

and also at the 1991 World Swimming Championships, Melbourne, Australia. The

success of the Harare AAGKiP encouraged the team to repeat the exercise at the 1999

edition held in Johannesburg, South Africa. By this time, the project had come to enjoy

the additional and full support of the United Nations Educational and Scientific

Organization (UNESCO). Prior to the commencement of the 3rd edition of the project at

the 8th All-Africa Games held in Abuja, Nigeria in October 2003, the International

Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK) held its first ever
Anthropometry Accreditation and Certification Course for Level 2 Technicians in Africa

in the month of September, 2003 in Abuja. This course, moderated by J.E.L. Carter, was

designed to train the anthropometry technicians in preparation for the Nigeria All-Africa

Games Kinanthropometry Project (NAAGKiP) and to upgrade the protocol used at the

previous two editions (de Ridder, 2003). Through encouragement and careful guidance

by the late A.O. Ajiduah, the exercise physiologist and Professor of Human Kinetics and

Health Education in the University of Lagos, this investigator was able to receive training

and to participate in the NAAGKiP as Anthropometry technician- Level 2. The All-Africa

Games Kinanthropometry Project, therefore, has become Africa’s first continental survey

for performance and physical activity. It is pertinent to note, however, that the effort has

been directed at generating data from the adult, elite athlete and not the junior, growing

athlete.

The uses of anthropometry as a tool for investigating the relationship between growth,

maturity, physical activity, health and performance has been much more vigorously

explored by researchers in physical education (currently referred to as human kinetics),

exercise physiology and sports medicine. Investigators in these fields of endeavor interact

frequently through annual conferences and participation at University, National and

International Sports meetings. In Nigeria, they collaborate through an umbrella body

known as the Nigeria Association for Sports Science and Medicine (NASSM) and the

results of these efforts are published regularly in their journal, the Nigerian Journal of

Sports science and Medicine. However, their efforts have usually been directed towards

the care of the injured athlete and other factors related to health, fitness, physical activity

and performance, with very limited input from investigators involved in growth research.
Only a few papers have appeared in the literature in recent times (Musa and Lawal, 2001;

Emiola, 2002; Okuneye et al., 2004; Okuneye, Ogunleye and Ibeabuchi, 2004), which

reported on children.

Although national surveys are cross-sectional, they are useful because the subjects

selected to participate in the surveys are chosen to be representative of the population as a

whole. Such samples are known as national probability samples. Results of such large-

scale national or continental surveys are the primary source for the construction of

reference data used in comparing and evaluating the growth, maturity and performance

status of children.

Current status of somatic growth research

Thus, it has been shown that the study of growth and maturation has a long history

spanning over 150 years in the disciplines of medicine, human biology, biological

anthropology and the sports sciences (Krogman, 1970; Meredith, 1971, 1987; Malina,

1978; Garn, 1980; Tanner, 1981, 1989; Malina and Roche, 1983; Roche and Malina,

1983; Faulkner and Tanner, 1986; Eveleth and Tanner, 1990; Roche, 1992). The concepts

and principles that underlie the study of growth and maturation during the first two

decades of postnatal life have been well elaborated and developed in the early part of the

20th century (Scammon, 1930; Krogman, 1948). The major sources of information,

longitudinal and cross-sectional studies for the understanding of growth and maturation,

have also been identified (Krogman, 1970; Meredith, 1971, 1978, 1987; Bielicki and

Waliszko, 1975; Eveleth and Tanner, 1976, 1990; Waliszko and Jedlinska, 1976; Malina,
1978; Lindgren, 1979; Tanner, 1981; Malina and Roche, 1983; Roche, 1992; Guo et al.,

1994; Billewicz et al., 1983; Adams et al., 2002; Monyeki, 2003).

The study of growth is largely synonymous with measurement (McCammon, 1970;

Malina and Roche, 1983; Tanner, 1989). The systematic study of these features, which

are characteristic for every individual, requires measurements taken at different ages

during infancy, childhood and adolescence and continuing into young adulthood

(Lohman, Roche and Matorell, 1988; Mueller and Matorell, 1988; Malina, 1995; Norton

and Olds, 1996; ISAK, 2001; Lampl et al., 2001). Measurements commonly used in

growth studies have been described and the changes in body size and specific dimensions

and body proportions that occur as the individual passes from infancy through childhood

and adolescence into young adulthood have been reviewed and summarized (Malina,

Hamill and Lemeshow, 1973, 1974; Meredith, 1978; Roche and Himes, 1980; Tanner

1981; Matorell et al., 1988; Lindgren et al., 1994; Kuczmarski et al., 2000). Two

measurements that are basic to most growth studies, height and weight, and more

recently, the body mass index (BMI, weight/ height² ) have been used in many nutritional

surveys (Tanner, Whitehouse and Takaishi, 1966; Roche, 1972; Roche, Guo and Yeung,

1989; Kuczmarski and Johnson, 1991; Roche, Guo and Moore, 1997). Size attained

provides an indicator of growth status, and if the individual is followed over time, an

indicator of growth rate (Kuczmarski et al., 2000).

Generally, however, corresponding data for other body dimensions are very limited

(Walker, 1979; Johnson et al., 1981; Roche et al., 1987; WHO, 1995). Most body

dimensions, however, with the exception of subcutaneous adipose tissue and dimensions

of the head and face, tend to follow the same pattern of growth as height and weight
(Bloom, 1964; Tanner and Whitehouse, 1982), whereas body proportions show different

patterns (Roche and Malina, 1983; Schmidt-Nielsen, 1984).

The evaluation of growth status requires reference data or “growth charts” (WHO, 1995).

The new growth charts for United States children and adolescents developed in 2000 by

the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) in collaboration with Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have become norm reference worldwide (Roche

et al., 1996; Roche, 1999; Kuczmarski et al., 2000; Roche and Guo, 2001; Ogden et al.,

2002) and now include BMI-for-age percentiles for boys and girls from age 2 to 20 years

of age (CDC, 2000). The evidence from these data suggests that height and weight are

rather stable (i.e. they track well across childhood and adolescence), although low

tracking of stature is observed at adolescence when height velocity is high.

BMI curves show that most changes have their origin during the first years of life. The

BMI also tracks well but interpretation of the BMI as an indicator of fatness in children

and adolescent needs caution due to inconsistencies (Rolland-Cachera et al., 1987;

Rolland-Cachera 1993; Siervogel, 1991; Guo et al., 1994; Power et al., 1997; Dietz and

Robinson, 1998; Cole et al., 2000). Nutrition affects fatness and stature, but the

consequences of under- and over-nutrition differ between early childhood and

adolescence. The growth of individual children tends to remain at or near certain

percentile levels on reference charts after about 2 or 3 years of age until adolescence

(Cameron, 1984, 1991, 1992). However, before this period, percentile levels of individual

children often change. Shifts usually occur between adjacent channels or percentiles on

the growth chart but may occasionally cross two or more percentile lines. Such a shift in

longitudinal data is known as decanalization (Roche and Li, 1998). Decanalization,

common in infancy and early childhood, is of no concern in the absence of disease and,

commonly, is a gradual expression of the child’s genetic potential for height.

To some extent body composition reflects nutritional status. It is also influenced by age,

sex, race, physical activity and disease. The method used to measure body composition

depends on the variable to be quantified. It may also depend on the practical conditions of

the study (Rolland-Cachera, 1993). Detailed methods, such as densitometry, isotope

dilution (neutron activation), bioelectrical impedance (BIA) and dual-energy x-ray

absorptiometry (DEXA) give more accurate information, but they are commonly based

on hypotheses established in adults. Anthropometric measurements can be used directly

or as ratio or regression equations. At adolescence, the body mass index (BMI) is

preferred to weight for height as age is taken into account. In addition, the BMI pattern

reflects real changes in body shape, and early in life it is an indicator of later

development. In addition to measuring weight and height, skinfold measurement is

usually carried out. The triceps skinfold is usually recommended and widely used as it is

better than the subscapular skinfold to predict percent body fat, although some of the

popular algorithms factorize the two skinfolds. Trunk skinfolds, such as the subscapular,

iliac crest, supraspinale and abdominal are better than extremity skinfolds for their

association with internal fat and their good correlations with risk factors and response to

nutritional interventions. However, many authorities, nowadays, prefer the sum of four to

eight skinfolds taken directly as a measure of body fat to percent fat because it eliminates

the problems arising from assumptions factorized into the derivation of the equations.

Body density (Db) declines in males from about 8 to 10 years but then increases more or

less linearly to about 16 to 17 years of age. In females on the other hand, Db decreases
from about 8 to 11 years of age, then increases only slightly, and finally reaches a plateau

by about 14 years of age. Both sexes also show a slight decline in Db in late adolescence

and young adulthood (Malina et al., 1988; Malina, 1989). The results of pooled samples

taken from Japanese adolescent children 11 to 18 years of age grouped by age and sex are

consistent with that for American adolescents (Tahara et al., 2002).

The accurate application of the principles and methods for estimating body composition

to children requires that a determination be made as to when, during growth, adult values

for the primary components of the fat-free mass are attained. This idea led to the

development of the concept of chemical maturity. Changes in the chemical composition

of the body during growth can be appreciated in a comparison of the infant and young

adult reference males (Brozek, 1963; Fomon, 1966; Forbes, 1986). The point of chemical

maturity, defined by Moulton (1923) as “the point at which the concentration of water,

proteins and mineral salts becomes comparatively constant in the fat-free cell”, does not

occur until after puberty, but most changes occur early in life. At present, chemical

composition data for a young adult reference female or for the years between infancy and

adulthood are not available (Forbes, 1987; Malina, Bouchard and Bar-Or, 2004).

However, presently available longitudinal data suggests that the fat-free mass tracks

moderately well from childhood through adolescence in both sexes, whereas fat mass and

percent body fat are less stable characteristics (Fomon et al. 1982; Houtkooper et al.

1992; Guo et al. 1997; Tahara et al. 2002).

Tracking is the maintenance of an individual in the same percentile range across age and

varies according to the growth parameter and to the period of growth. Low tracking of

fatness (up to the age of 8 years) corresponds to the period of rapid chemical changes.
The accumulation of body fat and changes in the relative distribution of fat, both

subcutaneous and visceral, associated with differential timing of sexual maturation, are

implicated as risk factors for overweight and/or obesity. Earlier studies (Forbes, 1964;

Cheek, 1970) as well as more recent efforts (Malina and Bouchard, 1988; Malina et al.,

1989, 1995; Beunen et al., 1994; Kuczmarski et al., 2000) indicate that obese children are

taller, on the average, and more advanced in skeletal maturity compared with non-obese

children of the same chronological age. Males accumulate proportionally more

subcutaneous adipose tissue on the trunk during adolescence compared with females.

Although the exact mechanism is not clear, hormonal factors have been implicated

(Horswill et al., 1997). A history of obesity during childhood and adolescence also has

implications, or consequences for adult health. The increased prevalence of obesity

among children and adolescents has been accompanied by an increased prevalence of

obesity in adults in many countries throughout the world (WHO, 1998; British Nutrition

Foundation 1999; Flegal and Troiano, 2000; Flegal et al., 2002; Katzmarzyk, 2002a,

2002b). The age at “adiposity rebound” has also been identified as a risk factor for adult

overweight/obesity (Rolland-Cachera, 1984, 1987, 1991). Variation in the distribution of

fat is a known risk factor in the development of several diseases in adults, such as adult

onset dependent diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases (Guo et al., 1994; Gutin

and Barbeau, 2000). However, studies done on African populations are sparsely reported

(Steyn, Joubert and Roussouw, 1990).

In addition to hormonal factors, intraindividual and interindividual differences in the

profile of fat deposition have been associated with the metabolic properties of the

adipocytes (fat-secreting cells). The traditional view of the adipose cell was one in which
the cell provided a storage structure for fatty acids in the form of triacylglycerol

molecules and for the release of fatty acids when metabolic fuel was needed. Of course

fat cells are responsible for these critical functions. However, the adipose cell is now

better appreciated as a complex organ whose functions are not limited to storage of

unneeded calories and delivery of metabolic fuel in times of fasting or starvation or other

kinds of biological passivity. Its functions are now known to include the regulation of

energy balance, glucose and insulin metabolism, lipid metabolism, immunity, feedback

regulation of adipogenesis, production of estrogens and the regulation of blood pressure

(Ailhaud and Hauner, 1998; Romanski et al., 2000; Fruhbeck et al., 2001). The

reporting of the discovery of Leptin in 1994 has resulted in the opening of an entirely

new chapter in the biological sciences (Zhang et al., 1994). The understanding that leptin,

a cytokine-like molecule synthesized and secreted by adipocytes in proportion to fat mass

in most people, is implicated in the regulation of food intake, energy expenditure, glucose

and lipid metabolism, puberty, reproductive functions, angiogenesis, and other processes

is important (Masuzaki et al., 1997).

New technologies such as computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance

imaging (MRI) now permit differentiation of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue in

the abdominal area, and a sex difference in visceral adiposity appears to occur during late

adolescence when males accumulate proportionately more visceral adipose than females

(Bouchard, 1994; Goran, 1995, 1999; Huang et al., 2001).

Ratios of trunk and extremity skinfolds suggest that subcutaneous fat distribution is not

stable during childhood. During growth, some fat individuals move away from the high

fatness categories, whereas some lean children move into these categories (Katzmarzyk
et al., 1999; Campbell et al., 2001). However, few studies have examined the stability of

relative adipose tissue distribution from childhood to adulthood.

Body dimensions and growth curves

The course of growth in stature and weight from birth to 19 years of age has been amply

illustrated as distance or size-attained curves (Kuczmarski et al., 2000) and velocity

curves (Tanner, Whitehouse and Takaishi, 1966) in several authoritative texts, journal

reports and growth charts (Flegal et al., 2002; Malina, Bouchard and Bar-Or, 2004).

Other curves already generated are distance curves for body mass index (Rolland-

Cachera et al., 1991) as well as growth patterns for other body dimensions such as sitting

height and leg lengths (Martorell et al., 1988), biacromial and biiliocristal breadths

(McCammon, 1970; Roche and Malina, 1983), distance curves for arm and calf

circumference (Johnson et al., 1981). Ratios such as sitting height as percentage of stature

(Roche and Malina, 1983) and biiliocristal to biacromial breadths (Roche and Malina,

1983) are also available. Percentile curves useful in evaluating the growth status of

individual children have been developed and revised since the late 1950s in the United

States (U.S.) as the National Health Examination Survey (NHES, 1959-1970), National

Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES, 1971-2000), and Hispanic Health

and Nutrition Examination Survey (HHANES, 1982-1984). Some of these data have been

incorporated into these percentile growth charts developed and also revised by the U.S.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Growth Charts 1973, 1988 and 2000).

The curves represent age-specific and sex-specific averages for boys and girls and do not
portray the wide range of normal individual variability apparent in any group of children.

The pattern of changes is generally similar in all children, but the size attained at a given

age and the timing of the adolescent growth spurt varies considerably from child to child.

From birth to early adulthood, both stature and weight follow a four-phase growth

pattern: 1) rapid gain in infancy and early childhood, 2) rather steady gain during middle

childhood, 3) rapid gain during the adolescent spurt, and 4) slow increase until growth

ceases with the attainment of adult stature (Kuczmarski et al., 2000). Body weight,

however, usually continues to increase into adult life.

Adolescence is a difficult period to define in terms of chronological age because of the

variation in the time of its onset and termination. The World Health Organization (WHO)

defines the age of adolescence as between 10 and 18 years, but the age ranges 8 to 19

years in girls and 10 and 22 years in boys are more appropriate as limits for normal

variation in the onset and termination of adolescence. In this period, most bodily systems

become adult both structurally and functionally, i.e. they reach maturity. Structurally,

adolescence commences with acceleration in the rate of growth in stature, which

marks the onset of the adolescent growth spurt. The rate of growth in height reaches a

peak, then begins a slower or decelerative phase, and finally terminates with the

attainment of adult stature. Functionally, adolescence is usually viewed in terms of sexual

maturity, which actually begins with changes in the neuroendocrine system before overt

physical changes and terminates with the attainment of mature reproductive function.

From a biological perspective, the period of adolescence includes two major events, the

adolescent growth spurt (somatic maturation) and sexual maturation. Youth enter this

phase of growth at varying ages (differential timing) and proceed through it at variable
rates (differential tempo). Timing and tempo are highly individual characteristics and are

unrelated. Girls are, on average, in advance of boys in the timing of maturation, but

tempo overlaps considerably. Other body dimensions, muscular strength, motor

performance, and aerobic power also show well-defined adolescent spurts, but the time of

the respective spurts varies relative to peak height velocity in both sexes and relative to

menarche in girls.

Indicators of growth and maturation are affected by biological inheritance. Biological

inheritance represents the influences of the parental generation on the offspring

generations that are mediated by genes. The role of specific genes and mutations in

normal variation in body height (Comings et al., 1993; Arinami, 1999), bone size

(Bouchard et al., 1997), skeletal muscle (Bouchard et al., 1986; Arden and Spector, 1997;

Nguyen et al., 1998; Gibbons et al., 1998), physique (Perusse et al., 1988), adipose tissue

(Buemann et al., 1997; Bouchard et al., 1998; Katzmarzyk et al., 1999; Peru et al., 2001),

at various stages of growth and maturation of children and adolescents remains to be

elucidated, in part because of the measures of growth and maturation that are complex,

multifactorial phenotypes (Sing and Boerwinkle, 1987). The genetics of growth and

maturation has been examined primarily through studies of different kinds of relatives,

most often twins, siblings, parents and offspring, and spouses (Fischbein, 1977; Bergman,

1988; Konianek, 1988; Loesch et al., 1995). The available data indicate a major role for

the genotype in body size and body composition and in the timing, tempo and sequence

of maturational events. The genotype also has a role in indicators of performance

(Bouchard, Malina and Perusse, 1997; Watanabe, 2000) and responses to training

(Bouchard et al., 1997; Bouchard et al., 1999; Bouchard et al., 2000), but genetic effects
are not as strong as those for measures of growth and maturation. Much can be learned

from the study of children who have a specific genetic deficiency. Such studies reveal

that a partial or complete invalidation of a single gene can result in death, failure to

thrive, or a predisposition to several diseases.

Assessment of physique

The second part of this study is the assessment of the physique or body build of

adolescents Nigerian children. Physique, or body build, refers to an individual’s body

form, the configuration of the entire body rather than its specific features (Malina,

Bouchard and Bar-Or, 2004). The study of physique is one single aspect of an area of

study sometimes labeled human constitution, which involves the interrelationships and

interdependency among an individual’s structural, functional, and behavioral

characteristics (Tanner, 1953, 1988; Barton and Hunt, 1962; Sheldon, Lewis and Tenney,

1969; Damon, 1970; Hunt, 1980). Physique is probably the single aspect of human

constitution that is most amenable to systematic study because it can be readily observed

(Sheldon, Stevens and Tucker, 1940; Sheldon, Dupertius and McDermott, 1954; Parnell,

1958; Heath and Carter, 1967; Carter and Heath, 1990). The development of physique

has central importance in the study of growth, maturation, and performance. The study of

physique during growth permits a better understanding of variation in adult physique.

Physique has been related to a variety of behavioral, occupational, disease, and

performance variables, primarily in adults (Hunt, 1972, 1981; Malina, 1969; Malina et

al., 1997). However, the development of physique during childhood and adolescence, and

its relationships with other variables such as biologic maturity, performance, and

behavior, has been studied less extensively (Sheldon and Stevens, 1942; Sheldon, Hartl

and McDermott, 1949; Parnell, 1958; Sheldon, Lewis and Tenney, 1969; Malina and

Rarick, 1973). Relationships between components of physique and risk factors for

cardiovascular disease evident in adults are also apparent in children and adolescents

(Malina et al., 1997; Katzmarzyk et al., 1998), and relationships between physique and

performance are generally similar in youth and adults (Malina and Rarick, 1973; Malina,

1992). Data for young athletes in gymnastics and diving, for example, indicate that those

who are successful tend to have physiques that are similar to adult athletes in these sports

(Carter and Heath, 1990), which suggests that physique is a significant selective factor

and perhaps a contributor to success in some sports (Carter, 1996).

Methods for the assessment of physique and their applicability to children and youth have

been described primarily within the context of the somatotype (Sheldon, Stevens and

Tucker, 1940; Sheldon, Dupertius and McDermott, 1954; Parnell, 1958; Barton and Hunt,

1962; Heath, 1963; Heath and Carter, 1967; Claessens et al., 1980; Carter and Heath,

1986). Somatotype is the quantitative assessment of the physique of an individual at a

given point in time (Ross and Marfell-Jones, 1991). Variation in somatotype among

children and adolescents is considerable (Tanner, 1953; Zuk, 1958; Hunt and Barton,

1959; Walker, 1962, 1978; Petersen, 1967; Tanner and Whitehouse, 1982) and the

difference between sexes is especially apparent in the distribution of somatotypes in

reasonably large samples of children. Changes in somatotype from childhood through

adolescence have been described on the basis of observations from several cross-

sectional and longitudinal studies (Walker, 1962; Petersen 1967; Carter and Parizkova,

1978; Tanner and Whitehouse, 1982; Carter et al., 1997). Somatotype is a moderately

stable characteristic of the individual from late childhood on (Parizkova and Carter, 1976;

Claessens, Beunen and Simons, 1986; Hebbelinck, 1995). But the wide variation in

somatotype during adolescence is associated with individual differences in the timing and

tempo of the adolescent growth spurt and sexual maturation.

The assessments of somatic (structural) growth and maturation during adolescence are

often considered within the context of the physical status (size attained at any point in

time) as well as the somatotype (physique or body-build attained at any point in time).

These assessments are performed using the time-honored technology known as

anthropometry, or measurement of humans. Anthropometry, when used to assess growth

or other aspects related to human movement, is termed kinanthropometry. To this end,

several of the more commonly used anthropometric indicators of somatic growth are

described. The protocols for specific measurements as well as the algorithms for

estimating of the somatotype for each individual child with the Heath-Carter

anthropometric protocol have been considered in Lohman et al. (1988), Carter and Heath

(1990), Norton and Olds (1996) and International Society for the Advancement of

Kinanthropometry (2001).

Normative data for African populations are not readily available at the present time

(Carter, 1996). A small number of studies from Southern Africa have examined stature
and weight in selected populations, as well as growth and development in children.

Tobias (1975) summarized adult stature from 123 samples and noted that there was no

secular trend. However, there was a reduced sexual dimorphism with respect to stature in

African populations compared to Europeans. Two original journal articles by Cameron

(1991, 1992) have been quite instructive for research in human growth and morphology

in sub-Saharan Africa. They make several relevant points that provide a background for

studies in growth and maturation biology. First, it was noted that human biologic

diversity in Africa today reflects the diversity of the continent’s many environments

rather than the variability inherent in its peoples, and that this adult diversity, while

having a major genetic component, is generally interpreted as being the result of the

impoverished environment endemic to African countries. Second, the most striking

features of the growth patterns of African children throughout the continent commonly

illustrated in many studies reflect the effects of malnutrition and disease that mask ‘the

underlying growth pattern’. Therefore our knowledge of the growth of African children is

based on data that are tainted by the adverse environment of Africa. Third, his studies of

Vaalwater and Ubombo children which compared them to USA norms for “Blacks”

demonstrate “…what we now recognize to be a classic Third World growth pattern in

which, whilst they start off at the age of five years somewhere near the 50th percentile,

their growth rate is slightly below normal so that by early adolescence, about the take-off

point in growth velocity, they are, on average, at or near the 3rd percentile” (Cameron

1992: 265).

More recent growth studies in Africa, with the a few exceptions (Cameron et al., 1998)

have been conducted within the context of investigation of nutritional status, performance
or physical activity of children (Monyeki, van Lanthe and Steyn, 1999; Monyeki et al.,

2001; Matsena, Monyeki and Toriola, 2002). These studies, including the examples cited

above, often create the, most probably, erroneous impression that only problems related

to undernutrition exist in sub- Saharan Africa. However, one direct consequence of

globalization over the last two decades has been substantial alteration in the lifestyle and

dietary habits of many African communities resulting in the emergence of patterns of

overweight and obesity readily visible among the adult population as well as children and

adolescents, particularly among the urban affluent. Various types of malnutrition,

including overnutrition, have been investigated, somewhat vigorously, in the last 25 years

in Southern Africa (Walker et al., 1979; Walker et al., 1989; Walker, Walker and Manetsi,

1990; Cameron et al., 1992; Cameron and Getz, 1997; Monyeki, 1999; Monyeki,

Cameron and Getz, 2000; Monyeki, Steyn and Monyeki, 2002; Matsena et al., 2003).

Furthermore, there is grossly inadequate information about biologic growth and

maturation in Africa (Carter, 1996). With the exception of South Africa, the literature

identifies only sparse references to either cross-sectional or longitudinal studies on

biologic growth (Cameron et al., 1998; Kekana and Monyeki, 1998; Monyeki, 1999) and

maturation from Africa in general (Toriola, 1988; Cameron, 1991; Cameron and Getz,

1997). The Ellisras Longitudinal Study, commenced in the Ellisras rural community in

the Limpopo Province of South Africa in 1996 by the University of the North to examine

the physical growth patterns, nutritional status and socioeconomic indices of the rural

children, has received some international attention especially after the Vrije University,

Amsterdam, Netherlands, joined the project and included other lifestyle related

parameters such as blood pressure, 24-hour nutritional intake recall of children and oral
glucose tolerance test into the project (Monyeki, Cameron and Getz, 2000; Monyeki,

2000).

Comparatively simple technologies such as anthropometry have been grossly

underutilized. Thus in Nigeria, the earliest efforts to have received international attention

are those of Akesode and Ajibode (1983) and Toriola and Igbokwe (1985). Other

significant reports such as Owa and Adejuyigbe (1997) in Ile- Ife, Osun State, Ansa et al.

(2001) in Calabar, Cross- River State, and a most recent effort by Eboh and Boye (2005),

in Abraka, in Delta State, are few and far between. The picture of the Nigerian situation

becomes even more desperate given a population estimate of more than 120 million

people projected for 2005. This estimate was derived from the official figure of 88

million declared at the 1991 population census and was based on a projected annual

growth/birth rate of 3.2 per cent (data source: www.prb.ng.org). Given also the variety in

physical topography of the country stretching to include at least four distinct climatic

regions (tropical rain forest in the deep South near her Atlantic coast, Sahel savannah

grasslands in the Middle-Belt regions, semi-arid climate in the far Northern reaches as

well as the near-temperate montane climatic conditions of the Jos/ Mambilla Plateaus and

the Adamawa/Obudu Highlands), it is simply amazing that there are hardly any scientific

reports in the literature regarding such a geographically diverse and ethnically

heterogeneous population. It has been suggested that because of non-availability of

qualified personnel possessing the appropriate technical skills and competencies to

undertake anthropometric studies using standardized protocols, procedures and

equipment, data generated by interested workers in the field may have escaped the

attention of the international scientific community (Carter, 1996). Thus, the need to
commence studies on the growth and maturation of children in Nigeria has become

imperative.

THE RATIONALE

In a scientific paper titled Physical status: the use and interpretation of anthropometry.

Report of a WHO Expert Committee published in the World Health Organization

Technical Report Series (1995), the abstract commences thus, “Anthropometry provides

the single most portable, universally applicable, inexpensive and non-invasive technique

for assessing the size, proportions, and composition of the human body. It reflects both

health and nutritional status and predicts performance, health and survival. As such, it is a

valuable, but currently underused, tool for guiding public health policy and clinical

decisions.”

Normative data for African populations are not readily available at the present time

(Carter, 1996). The profile of growth studies conducted in Nigeria is not very illustrious.

The earliest report of any related study was that of the prevalence of obesity among

Nigerian school children living in the Abeokuta metropolis in southwest Nigeria by

Akesode and Ajibode (1983). Other reports are few and far between. Owa and

Adejuyigbe (1997) reported a comparison of measurements of fat mass, fat mass

percentage, body mass index and mid-upper arm circumference taken by anthropometric

and bioelectric impedance techniques in a healthy population of Nigerian school children

aged 5-15 years resident in Ile- Ife, also in Southwest Nigeria. A more recent report by

Ansa et al. (2001) examined the profile of body mass index and obesity in Nigerian
children and adolescents aged 6-18 years resident in Calabar. Furthermore, since the

pioneer efforts of Toriola and Igbokwe (1985) in determining the relationship between

perceived physique and somatotype characteristics of 10-18 year old boys and girls

resident in Iseyin in rural southwest Nigeria, the record of research about the body build

or physique is scanty. These observations underscore the depth of the inadequacy of

information regarding the physical status, body composition, physique as they relate to

growth and maturation among Nigerian children.

The CDC Growth Charts developed for the American population has been norm-

reference data around the world primarily because of the exhaustive and comprehensive

methods used for its development, review and presentation. In several research analyses,

these data are often compared with data developed from other continents and countries

and results have consistently indicated that the American data does not adequately

describe other populations outside the United States in several different situations. This

has thus led to the recommendation that individual countries develop databases

describing their local situations.

The non-availability of a well-structured and comprehensive anthropometric database for

childhood and adolescent growth developed for the teeming Nigerian population is a

current and major challenge for growth research.

Nigeria, a country located on the west coast of Africa with southern Atlantic coastline

extending around the Gulf of Guinea (8° 45N 8º 00E), its centre in the Sahel savannah, its

northernmost part reaching as far as the Sahara desert and with a human population

officially determined in 1991 at about 118 million, consists a heterogeneous mixture of

numerous and diverse ethnic nationalities whose fairly well defined socio-cultural habits
and life-styles have been established for many centuries. European colonization,

urbanization and modernization since the early 20th century, however, have caused huge

socio-cultural schisms in the polity, with large-scale relocation of a substantial portion of

the rural population from its traditional and mainly agrarian lifestyle into quasi-industrial

townships and cities with the attendant evolution of ghettos and urban slums. This

massive overhauling of age-old social structures, values, privileges and lifestyles has

created new and often entirely different kinds of loci for physical and social interactions

through such places as the work, school and residential environment. Changes in job and

business opportunities across the various social strata appear to have resulted in a socio-

economic paradigm shift that could be defined in terms of new or westernized lifestyles.

Two major and direct consequences of this development have been the change in the

dietary patterns of many families as well as increase in the frequency of inter-ethnic

marriages. It would, therefore, be expected that there be some additional variability in

the genotypic and phenotypic disposition of children raised in such communities which

would be manifested in their growth patterns and their body build.

This process, that is, the dispersion of native genetic characteristics of ancient

populations into newer and more heterogeneous sub-groups, appears to be an

evolutionary trend. It would, therefore, be expected constitute a new source of increased

genetic variability in Africa, apparently not limited to Nigeria but also occurring in

several other countries in the West African sub-region that have also experienced similar

patterns of western colonization. The review of the available literature suggests very

limited anthropological investigation of this apparently evolutionary trend within this

sub-region. In contrast, the use of anthropometry in the evaluation of similar trends has
been advanced and extensively reported in the literature, especially among the children of

other lands.

The city of Lagos, a sprawling metropolis and the commercial hub of Nigeria, with an

estimated population of over fifteen million inhabitants, is probably the most physically

and culturally intense entrêport into Africa. A natural harbor in the tropical rain forest

climatic zone, it lays on the Atlantic coast of West Africa (6° 27N 3° 25E) surrounded by

an intricate network of lagoons and inland waterways which extend westwards towards

the Republic of Benin and eastwards towards the Niger Delta to empty into the seaways

often described in the literature by oceanographers as the Bight of Benin. Originally

founded and predominantly inhabited by Yoruba-speaking natives, the cumulative effects

of five hundred years of socioeconomic interaction with the Portuguese and other

European and Mediterranean maritime traders, two hundred years as a major trans-

Atlantic slave trade seaport, a century of British colonization and the final destination of

more than one hundred years of intense rural-urban migration of people from native

Yoruba groups as well as non-native Nigerian ethnic nationalities, has transformed the

city into an intensely multi-ethnic “hotbed.”

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The profile of growth studies conducted in Nigeria is not illustrious. Majority norms of

body dimensions for adolescent children are not readily available at the present time.

There is inadequate information about biologic growth and maturation in children and

youths. Although anthropometry provides the single most portable, universally

applicable, inexpensive and non-invasive technique for assessing the size, proportions,

and composition of the human body and reflects health and nutritional status, predicts

performance, health and survival, it is a currently underused tool for guiding public

health policy and clinical decisions in Nigeria.

It has been observed that human biologic diversity in Africa today reflects more the

diversity of the continent’s many environments rather than the variability inherent in its

peoples. This adult diversity, while having a major genetic component, is generally

interpreted as being the result of the impoverished environment endemic to African

countries. Further, a most striking feature of the growth patterns of African children

throughout the continent commonly illustrated in many studies reflect the effects of

malnutrition and disease that probably masked the underlying growth pattern. Therefore

much of what is currently known of the growth of African children is based on data that

are tainted by the adverse environment endemic to Africa.

Several studies published in central Europe have demonstrated the relationship between

environmental factors such as nutrition, energy expenditure associated with physical

work and the sociocultural lifestyle and the child’s physical development. Many of these
suggest that remarkable differences in body dimensions and maturity status may exist

between children when their social background is dissimilar.

In studying these aspects, research often considers factors that have been shown to reflect

the socio-economic status of the parents reliably. Previously employed indicators include

parental level of education, parental profession, family size, per-capita income, the grade

of provision with modern conveniences of the habitat, the settlement’s level of

urbanization, the number of inhabitants living in the community, the level of health care

and access to medical services. Oftentimes, it has been difficult to authenticate the

reliability of the sources of the information being provided. It has, therefore, become

necessary to develop simpler and more readily-verifiable criteria for classifying the

socio-economic environment and lifestyle characteristics of any sample of the children

being investigated that would eliminate the clumsiness so often encountered while

attempting to obtain the family and social history

The socio-economic status of the family is commonly reflected in the type of school

attended by the children in the family. Economically advantaged families often prefer

fee-paying, private school to minimal fee- paying public school because the former tend

to be better funded, provide better educational facilities and superior learning

environment. Therefore, the type of school attended by a child may be considered as

useful indicator of the socio-economic status and, therefore, a lifestyle variable that may

influence the physique of adolescent children.

RATIONALE FOR STUDY

Therefore, it would appear that the development of a well- structured and comprehensive

anthropometric database for properly-nourished and healthy African children would be a

most desirable enterprise at this present time.

Since the pioneer efforts of Toriola and Igbokwe in 1985 in determining the relationship

between perceived physique and somatotype characteristics of 10-18 year old boys and

girls in rural southwest Nigeria, the record of research about the body build or physique is

scanty.

AIMS OF THE STUDY

The overall aims of this study are to characterize and compare the somatotype

distribution and the physical growth patterns of adolescent children resident in urban

Lagos.

BENEFITS OF THE STUDY

This anthropometric study is probably the first ever of its kind in Nigeria. Therefore, the

University of Lagos should take the credit for creating the enabling environment that has

made this study possible, with all the obvious immediate and long-term benefits that may

accrue to any institution organizing anthropological studies of this nature.

The results of this study may provide useful data for clinical decision-making as regards

the sizes, ratios and proportions specific to the Nigerian adolescent population. These

decisions may include the determination of appropriate age-related drug dosages and

nutritional requirements.

The identification of adult disease risk factors in this age group may improve prognosis

as a result of the early institution of intervention measures. This fact may be useful to

insurance policy makers.

The results may also help manufacturers in the garments industry in the accurate

determination of the appropriate sizes for adolescents in terms of clothes fitting.

The results may further provide useful baseline data for sports and fitness coaches

interested in the physical characteristics of the adolescent youth for the purposes of talent

identification, the monitoring of the effect of training programmes and the scientific

prediction of adult performance that are specific to their sport.

Clinical and sport psychologists may find somatotyping useful in body-image analysis,

especially among adolescents with various kinds of psychological disorders arising from

their perception of the changes in their physical appearance associated with the different

stages of growth and development.

Finally, the potential of this study to advance into a longitudinal study at the university,

city, state and nationwide levels with the possible consequence of a study comparable
with the Ellisras, Nijmegen, Harpenden, Fels and Harvard projects, needs to be explored.

In that likely eventuality, the cohort of this study should form the baseline or reference

group. It may, thereafter, subsequently, be possible to observe secular trends.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The specific objectives of this study are as follows:

1. To determine the somatotype distribution of adolescent boys and girls attending

private and public secondary schools in urban Lagos.

2. To determine the distance curves for physical structure characteristics in

adolescent Nigerian boys and girls attending both private and public secondary

schools in urban Lagos.

3. To determine the distance curves for body proportionality index estimates of

adolescent Nigerian boys and girls attending both private and public secondary

schools in urban Lagos.

4. To determine the growth curves for body composition parameters of adolescent

Nigerian boys and girls attending both private and public secondary schools in

urban Lagos.

5. To determine the relative fatness in the two sample series under study.

6. To compare the data derived from our Lagos sample series with those derived

from other populations around the world.

 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

THE SUBJECTS

The sample

This cross-sectional study was conducted on adolescent Nigerian schoolchildren. The

subjects for this study were selected using a stratified, systematic, multistage and

randomized sampling technique to arrive at the final sample for the study. The Institute of

Child Health made available the list of all secondary schools (including all registered,

private and public) located in Lagos State. This list is serialized by local government area

and ward for quick identification. The Institute also provided the sampling frame used to

select the schools (see appendix 4).

We enjoyed the full co-operation of the school authorities and thus had free access to the

class lists before the sampling commenced. This enhanced the effective application of the

latter stages of the sampling procedure.

The sample consisted of 3499 volunteer males and females aged between 10-16 years

(age as at last birthday) drawn from a total of eight secondary schools. These consisted of

four private, school fee-paying schools representing the high and middle income class

and four public, non-school fee-paying schools representing the low income class. These

were private schools where a minimum of fifteen thousand naira (N15, 000.00) per term

was charged as tuition fees. All the schools were located in five local government areas in

metropolitan or urban Lagos including: - Surulere, Mushin, Lagos Mainland, Kosofe and

Ikeja. They were randomly selected from the total of twenty local government areas

approved for Lagos State in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Ethical Clearance

Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained prior to the commencement of

sampling and measurement in all the schools (see appendix). The study was collaboration

between the Department of Anatomy and the Institute of Child Health and Primary Care

of the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos, and carried out during the

Maternal and Child Health course for the 600-Level Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of

Surgery (MBBS) undergraduate degree programme. The project, therefore, enjoyed the

statutory consent of the University of Lagos (see appendix 2). However, necessary

written approvals had to be obtained (through the Institute of Child Health) from each of
the authorities at the Local Education Districts supervising the administration of the

selected public secondary schools. Written authorization was also obtained (again,

through the Institute) from the proprietors of the private schools after the due process had

been fully complied with.

Informed Consent

We sought and obtained informed consent from the subjects and their parents that

participated in the study. This was after the purpose and procedure of measurement had

been carefully explained to them. A clear indication of full comprehension and

acceptance to participate was received from them (see appendix 3). We ensured strict

compliance with local or institutional rules regarding consent for every individual

subject. Subjects received a guarantee of preservation of their personal space throughout

the measurement exercise.

Exclusion Criteria

All the subjects were normally resident either in metropolitan Lagos or the suburbs of the

city. The sample included children from a multi-social and multi-religious mixture of

ethnic Nigerian parentage. Thirty-six percent of the children were from ethnically mixed

parentage. The ethnic groups represented included Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa-Fulani, Nupe,

Idoma, Tiv, Edo, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ijaw, Ibibio/Efik, A small percentage (less than five

percent) were Nigerian children born of mixed- parentage whereby one parent was a

West-African national from Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic and Cameroun. Another small
percentage was Nigerian children born of mixed parentage whereby one parent was of

Caucasoid or Asiatic races (half-castes). Pure-breed Caucasian, African and Near East

Semitics (Arabs) and Far East Asian children were excluded from the study.

The acutely-ill and the physically challenged were excluded. Children on any form of

continuous medication or those with various types of poor health conditions or immune

disorders that manifest with signs of stunted growth or physical emaciation were

excluded. Excessively obese children were also excluded to avoid potentially excessive

errors and for whom exposure before other children might cause unnecessary

embarrassment (ISAK, 2001).

ANTHROPOMETRY

Preparations for Data collection

The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase (phase 1) involved the organizing

of a training programme to select and prepare the anthropometrists. The second phase

(phase 2) involved visits to the private and public secondary schools selected for the

measurements. This study was initiated in mid-January, 2005. Phase 1 and part of phase 2

(measurement of children in the non-University of Lagos schools) was concluded in the

first week of February 2005. The second part of phase 2 (measurement of children of

University of Lagos schools) had to await ethical clearance from the College of Medicine

(later in May, 2005) before it could commence (see appendix 3).

Quality Control

Financial constraints precluded employing staff for data collection for anthropometry.

Data, therefore, was collected by the author with the assistance of one female ISAK-

certified anthropometrist and unpaid senior medical student volunteers. Two hundred and

seventy-five volunteers were trained in anthropometry according to ISAK’s protocol to

the standard of level 1 Technician (ISAK, 2001). One hundred were found suitable and

then selected as measurers. The quality assurance person for the study conducted training

on a group and individual basis.

Quality control assurance by the certified anthropometrists was critical to the assessment

and maintenance of accuracy in these measurements. Technicians were required to

undertake reliability testing as part of their training and to achieve technical errors within

internationally accepted limits (Ross, 1984; Cameron, 1984; De Ridder, 1993; Carter et

al., 1994; Kekana and Monyeki, 1998). Subject selection was done at the various school

locations. Measurements were taken in carefully selected clean, well-lit and well-

ventilated rooms in the school premises. Measurements were taken in the morning hours

between 9.00 a.m. and 12.00 a.m. each day. Duplicate anthropometric measurements

were subsequently taken by both the certified anthropometrist (the author) and each

volunteer. Inter and intra-observer technical errors of measurement (TEM) were

calculated. The measurements were taken using the flow diagram (steeplechase) format,

which allowed for quicker movements and fewer delays between measurement spots. The

measurer, an observer and a recorder manned each spot. The subject was required to

rotate through the steeplechase twice so that the measurer repeated each measurement
blind. This was to allow for the determination of the intra-observer (intra-class)

correlation of the technical error of measurement (TEM) for each measurement.

Measurement protocol: A total of 19 measurements were taken according to the protocols

recommended in the International Standards for Anthropometric Assessment published

by the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK, 2001).

These measurements included: body mass, stature and sitting height; six skinfolds

including triceps, biceps, subscapular, supraspinale, front thigh and medial calf skinfolds;

five breadths including the biacromial (shoulder), biiliocristal (pelvic), humerus and

femur bone breadths and transverse chest breadth; four girths including the arm flexed

and tensed, medial calf, waist and the gluteal girth; foot length. A full description of each

measurement is given in appendix 5.

DATA ANALYSIS

These measurements were used in combination and with the appropriate algorithms

(equations) to derive the ratios, proportions and indices usually utilized to determine the

following: 1) the somatotype 2) physical structure and 3) body composition of the

adolescent males and females in the different study groups. A list of all algorithms used is

given in appendix 6.

Heath-Carter somatotypes were calculated to the nearest 0.1 for each component from

anthropometry using the algorithms in Carter and Heath (1990). Endomorphy was

calculated with a height correction. Somatotypes for all adolescents were plotted on

separate somatocharts according to chronological age and gender. The mean somatotypes
for each age category were then plotted on one somatochart. The frequencies and relative

frequencies of somatotypes by category were also determined. Somatotypes as a whole

were analyzed for differences between the dispersion (scatter) of somatotypes about their

mean in three dimensions using the somatotype attitudinal distance (SAD) to calculate

the somatotype attitudinal mean (SAM). In addition, differences between mean

somatotypes (S1 –S2 –S3) were calculated using the procedures in Carter et al. (1983)

and Carter and Heath (1990).

The description of physical structural characteristics were presented either as tables of

descriptive statistics or graphically as distance curves showing how each characteristic

varied with chronological age.

Distance curves were constructed for the following body structure indicators: 1) Stature,

2) Body mass, 3) Body mass index (BMI), 4) Sitting height and Leg length, 5)

Biacromial (shoulder) breadth and Biiliocristal (hip) breadth, 6) size attained for Arm and

Calf circumferences.

Distance curves were also constructed for body proportionality indicators including: 1)

Sitting height/Stature ratio (Skelic index), 2) Biiliocristal/Biiliocristal ratio (Androgyny

index) 3) Sitting height as percentage of stature and 4) Biiliocristal as percentage of

biacromial width.

Body composition estimates were also determined and presented as tables of descriptive

statistics. Relative fatness was expressed as percent body fat (% fat), sum of four

skinfolds [∑4SF] and sum of six skinfolds [∑6SF]. Thereafter, fat mass (FM), fat-free

mass (FFM) and FFM per unit height for each child were derived using the appropriate
algorithms (see appendix 6). These estimates were then presented as distance curves

according to gender.

Statistical Analysis

Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS 11.0 for Windows statistical software

package on a desktop personal computer installed with Microsoft Windows XP

Professional operational system located in the Department of Anatomy, College of

Medicine of the University of Lagos. This package has been shown to be adequate for use

in the analysis of anthropometric data. The analyzed data was thereafter double-checked

for systematic and random errors by comparing the results with the same data analyzed

by means of another software programme christened Unilag KINANProStat© that was

developed in the Department for the presentation of the descriptive statistics of all the

anthropometric parameters analyzed. Descriptive statistics for the children of both public

and private schools were calculated for the relevant variables for this study. One-way

analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed for comparison among the boys and girls

of either category of schools. When F-ratios were significant (p<0.05), the post hoc

Scheffe test procedure was applied to determine which group means differed. Sub-group

means are ordered from low to high and presented from the left to the right in the post

hoc analysis. The groups sharing a common underline are not significantly different

(p<0.05). A forward stepwise discriminant analysis was applied to determine which

variables were needed to predict (separate) the various groups of children. The

discriminatory power of the classification functions was established using the jack-knife

classification matrix. With the classification matrix the children were classified back into
their original groups and the percentage of children classified correctly into their original

groups was also determined.

RESULTS

Table 1 Frequency distribution of the subjects (grouped by age, gender

and school type).

Age Boys Girls Total

Private Public Private Public
9.6-10.5 133 55 64 63 315
10.6-11.5 121 66 69 56 312
11.6-12.5 121 77 68 55 321
12.6-13.5 97 83 57 55 292
13.6-14.5 74 80 53 88 295
14.6-15.5 98 66 64 57 288
15.6-16.5 64 77 62 74 287

Total sample size (N) = 2,080

Table 2 Descriptive and inferential Statistics for the Study Sample

presented as mean and standard deviation.
N=2080
N Range Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Variance
Deviation

Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Statistic Stderror Statistic Statistic

AGE 7 6.00 9.60 16.50 13.0000 .8165 2.16025 4.667

RANGE
PRB 7 69.00 64.00 133.00 101.1429 9.6940 25.64780 657.810

PUB 7 28.00 55.00 83.00 72.0000 3.7670 9.96661 99.333

PRG 7 16.00 53.00 69.00 62.4286 2.1697 5.74042 32.952
PUG 7 33.00 55.00 88.00 64.0000 4.7610 12.59630 158.667
Valid N 7
(listwise)

Table 3 Descriptive and comparative statistics for stature

(cm)

Group PRB PUB PRG PUG

Age Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD P

9.6-10.5 143.1 (7.3) 135.9 (7.9) ** 143.7 (8.1) 138.6 (8.5) <5%

10.6-11.5 147.5 (8.1) 143.7 (8.1) 152.0 (7.4) 143.6 (8.2) <5%

11.6-12.5 153.7 (8.4) 145.5 (7.1) 155.2 (7.5) 148.5 (7.9) <5%

12.6-13.5 158.3 (9.5) 149.6 (8.6) 158.8 (7.6) 153.3 (8.1) <5%

13.6-14.5 164.4 (9.4) 156.6 (9.0) 161.2 (7.8) 155.3 (6.6) <5%

14.6-15.5 171.2 (7.7) 162.9 (9.3) 164.4 (6.8) 155.6 (6.2) <5%

15.6-16.5 172.8 (8.2) 167.6 (8.0) 162.0 (6.0) 158.2 (5.3) <5%

SD = standard deviation, <5% = difference between the means is significant

at 5% level of random error, PRB = Private school boys, PUB = Public

school boys, PRG = Private school girls, PUG = Public school girls.

Table 4 Descriptive and comparative statistics for body mass (kg)

Group PRB PUB PRG PUG

Age (yrs) Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD P

9.6-10.5 35.2 (7.8) 28.8 (4.1) 36.4 (9.2) 31.4 (6.1) <5%

10.6-11.5 39.3 (10.1) 33.8 (6.2) 44.6 (10.8) 33.8 (6.5) <5%

11.6-12.5 43.4 (12.3) 35.8 (7.8) 46.3 (9.5) 40.9 (9.0) <5%

12.6-13.5 46.8 (12.0) 37.8 (8.0) 49.8 (12.2) 43.8 (9.2) <5%

13.6-14.5 52.1 (11.7) 44.8 (8.2) 54.5 (11.7) 47.1 (7.9) <5%

14.6-15.5 58.2 (11.1) 51.8 (10.2) 57.2 (11.4) 46.3 (6.7) <5%

15.6-16.5 60.5 (10.5) 56.4 (8.7) 55.8 (10.0) 53.4 (7.0) <5%
SD = standard deviation, <5% = difference between the means is significant
at 5% level of random error, PRB = Private school boys, PUB = Public
school boys, PRG = Private school girls, PUG = Public school girls.

Table 5 Descriptive and comparative statistics for body mass index

(kg/m2)

Group PRB PUB PRG PUG

Age Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD Mean SD P

9.6-10.5 17.1 (2.9) 15.6 (3.6) 17.4 (3.0) 16.3 (2.2) <5%

10.6-11.5 17.9 (3.4) 16.2 (1.9) 19.1 (3.4) 16.2 (1.8) <5%

11.6-12.5 18.1 (3.9) 16.8 (2.8) 19.1 (3.0) 18.4 (3.2) <5%

12.6-13.5 18.5 (3.7) 16.7 (2.2) 19.6 (3.7) 18.5 (2.5) <5%

13.6-14.5 19.1 (2.9) 18.1 (2.1) 20.9 (3.6) 19.5 (2.8) <5%

14.6-15.5 19.7 (3.0) 19.3 (2.2) 21.0 (3.3) 19.1 (2.0) <5%

15.6-16.5 20.2 (3.0) 20.0 (2.2) 21.2 (3.6) 21.1 (3.1) <5%

SD = standard deviation, <5% = difference between the means is significant

at 5% level of random error, PRB = Private school boys, PUB = Public
school boys, PRG = Private school girls, PUG = Public school girls.
TABLE 6. Descriptive and comparative statistics of absolute
size, body composition and somatotypes of Adolescent
Nigerian boys in urban Lagos. Values are mean (S.D)
ANTHROPOMETRI STATISTICS

C PARAMETERS
Age group (years) 9.6-10.5 10.6-11.5 11.6-12.5 12.6-13.5 13.6-14.5 14.6-15.5 15.6-16.5

School type PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU

B B B B B B B B B B B B B B
Sample size 133 55 121 66 121 77 97 83 74 80 98 66 64 77

Stature (cm) 143. 135. 147. 143. 153. 145. 158. 149. 164. 156. 171. 162. 172. 167.

1 9 5 7 7 5 3 6 4 6 2 9 8 6

(7.3) (7.9) (8.1) (8.3) (8.4) (7.1) (9.5) (8.6) (9.4) (9.0) (7.7) (9.3) (8.2) (8.0)
Body mass (kg) 35.2 28.8 39.3 33.8 43.4 35.8 46.8 37.8 52.1 44.8 58.2 51.8 60.5 56.4

(7.8) (4.1) (10.1 (6.2) (12.3 (7.8) (12.0 (8.0) (11.7 (8.2) (11.1 (10.2 (10.5 (8.7)

) ) ) ) ) ) )
Body mass index 17.1 15.6 17.9 16.2 18.1 16.8 18.5 16.7 19.1 18.1 19.7 19.3 20.2 20.0

(2.9) (3.6) (3.4) (1.9) (3.9) (2.8) (3.7) (2.2) (2.9) (2.1) (3.0) (2.2) (3.0) (2.2)
(BMI)-kg/m2
Height-weight 44.0 44.7 43.8 44.6 44.2 44.4 44.3 44.8 44.3 44.3 44.4 43.9 44.2 43.9

(2.2) (1.6) (2.2) (1.8) (2.4) (2.0) (2.5) (1.2) (2.0) (1.7) (2.0) (1.4) (2.2) (1.6)
Ratio HWR

(Ponderal index)
Sum of 4 Skinfolds 34.8 21.5 36.4 25.0 38.7 23.8 42.3 23.8 49.2 25.6 50.9 24.7 49.5 24.7

(21.8 (1.0) (20.9 (11.0 (25.0 (8.9) (23.9 (7.4) (9.7) (2.4) (16.5 (6.3) (20.8 (5.4)
(Σ4SF)
) ) ) ) ) ) )
Percent body fat 29.2 24.8 29.9 25.7 29.2 26.0 30.4 25.3 29.2 25.6 28.3 25.6 28.8 25.6

(11.6 (1.0) (10.8 (2.9) (8.9) (8.7) (14.2 (1.7) (9.7) (2.4) (10.1 (1.4) (9.0) (1.3)
(% BF)
) ) ) )
Endomorphy 2.8 1.8 2.9 2.0 2.9 1.8 2.8 1.8 2.6 1.8 2.3 1.8 2.4 1.7

(1.6) (0.5) (1.7) (0.9) (1.7) (1.0) (1.6) (0.6) (1.3) (0.7) (1.0) (0.5) (1.3) (0.5)

Mesomorphy 3.8 3.4 3.9 3.4 3.8 3.6 4.2 3.6 4.8 3.6 4.7 3.8 4.6 3.6

(1.2) (1.1) (1.2) (1.0) (1.4) (1.2) (1.5) (1.1) (1.2) (1.2) (1.3) (1.1) (1.4) (1.2)

Ectomorphy 3.7 4.0 3.6 4.1 3.9 4.0 .4.0 4.3 3.9 3.9 4.0 3.6 3.8 3.5

(1.5) (1.2) (1.4) (1.3) (1.5 (1.3) (1.6) (1.3) (1.4) (1.3) (1.4) (1.0) (1.5) (1.2)
)
SD = standard deviation, <5% = difference between the means is significant

at 5% level of random error.

PRB = Private school boys, PUB = Public school boys

TABLE 7. Descriptive and comparative statistics of

absolute size, body composition and somatotypes of
Adolescent Nigerian girls in urban Lagos. Values are mean
(S.D)
ANTHROPOMETRI STATISTICS

C PARAMETERS
Age group (years) 9.6-10.5 10.6-11.5 11.6-12.5 12.6-13.5 13.6-14.5 14.6-15.5 15.6-16.5

School type PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU

G G G G G G G G G G G G G G
Sample size 64 63 69 56 68 55 57 55 53 88 64 57 62 74

Stature (cm) 143. 138. 152. 143. 155. 148. 158. 153. 161. 155. 164. 155. 162. 158.

7 6 0 6 2 5 8 3 2 3 4 6 0 2

(8.1) (8.5) (7.4) (8.2) (7.5) (7.9) (7.6) (8.1) (7.8) (6.6) (6.8) (6.2) (6.0) (5.3)
Body mass (kg) 36.4 31.4 44.6 33.8 46.3 40.9 49.8 43.8 54.5 47.1 57.2 46.3 55.8 53.4

(9.2) (6.1) (10.8 (6.5) (9.5) (9.0) (12.2 (9.2) (11.7 (7.9) (11.4 (6.7) (10.0 (7.0)

) ) ) ) )
Body mass index 17.4 16.3 19.1 16.2 19.1 18.4 19.6 18.5 20.9 19.5 21.0 19.1 21.2 21.1

(3.0) (2.2) (3.4) (1.8) (3.0) (3.2) (3.7) (2.5) (3.6) (2.8) (3.3) (2.0) (3.6) (3.4)
(BMI) - kg/m2
Height-weight- 43.8 44.2 43.3 44.7 43.5 43.5 43.6 43.8 42.8 43.2 43.0 43.5 42.6 42.2

(9.2) (2.2) (2.3) (1.6) $ (2.2) (2.3) (1.7) (2.2) (2.2) (2.0) (1.5) (2.4) (1.6)
Ratio HWR
(2.1)
(Ponderal index)
Sum of 4 Skinfolds 40.9 26.2 50.1 32.5 54.6 36.3 50.6 38.9 57.6 43.8 59.1 39.7 59.8 50.0

(17.4 (1.8) (20.0 (10.0 (18.7 (13.4 (17.6 (12.9 (18.6 (13.4 (17.8 (11.5 (26.1 (18.1
(Σ4SF)- mm
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
Percent body fat 29.8 26.2 33.3 27.0 33.3 29.7 33.4 28.8 35.6 30.1 36.7 29.0 38.6 32.6

(6.8) (1.8) (9.4) (2.8) (7.5) (12.9 (10.2 (4.3) (10.5 (5.1) (10.3 (3.1) (17.4 (8.1)
(% BF)
) ) ) ) )
Endomorphy 3.3 2.4 4.0 2.6 4.1 3.0 3.9 3.0 4.3 3.3 4.6 3.1 4.4 3.7

(1.4) (0.7) (1.5) (0.8) (1.3) (1.3) (1.3) (1.0) (1.2) (1.1) (1.5) (0.9) (1.7) (1.2)

Mesomorphy 3.2 3.0 3.4 3.1 2.8 3.4 2.8 3.2 2.9 3.3 4.6 3.1 4.4 3.7

(1.1) (1.0) (1.3) (1.0) (1.2) (1.3) (1.5) (1.1) (1.4) (1.5) (1.5) (0.9) (1.7) (1.2)

Ectomorphy 3.5 3.8 3.2 4.1 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.5 2.8 3.1 3.0 3.2 2.8 2.4

(1.5) (1.5) (1.6) (1.2) (1.5 (1.5) (1.5) (1.1) (1.6) (1.5) (1.3) (1.1) (1.5) (1.0)
)
 SD = standard deviation, <5% = difference between the means is
significant at 5% level of random error.
PRG = Private school girls, PUG = Public school girls.

Report of descriptive statistics for the study sample presented as mean (SD).

AGEGRO PRB PUB PRG PUG

UP
10.00 Mean 133.0000 55.0000 64.0000 63.0000
N 1 1 1 1
Std. . . . .
Deviation
11.00 Mean 121.0000 66.0000 69.0000 56.0000
N 1 1 1 1
Std. . . . .
Deviation
12.00 Mean 121.0000 77.0000 68.0000 55.0000
N 1 1 1 1
Std. . . . .
Deviation
13.00 Mean 97.0000 83.0000 57.0000 55.0000
N 1 1 1 1
Std. . . . .
Deviation
14.00 Mean 74.0000 80.0000 53.0000 88.0000
N 1 1 1 1
Std. . . . .
Deviation
15.00 Mean 98.0000 66.0000 64.0000 57.0000
N 1 1 1 1
Std. . . . .
Deviation
16.00 Mean 64.0000 77.0000 62.0000 74.0000
N 1 1 1 1
Std. . . . .
Deviation
Total Mean 101.1429 72.0000 62.4286 64.0000
N 7 7 7 7
Std. 25.64780 9.96661 5.74042 12.59630
Deviation
Age group (years) 9.6-10.5 10.6-11.5 11.6-12.5 12.6-13.5 13.6-14.5 14.6-15.5 15.6-16.5

School type PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU PR PU

G G G G G G G G G G G G G G
Sample size 64 63 69 56 68 55 57 55 53 88 64 57 62 74

Stature (cm) 143. 138. 152. 143. 155. 148. 158. 153. 161. 155. 164. 155. 162. 158.

7 6 0 6 2 5 8 3 2 3 4 6 0 2

(8.1) (8.5) (7.4) (8.2) (7.5) (7.9) (7.6) (8.1) (7.8) (6.6) (6.8) (6.2) (6.0) (5.3)
Body mass (kg) 36.4 31.4 44.6 33.8 46.3 40.9 49.8 43.8 54.5 47.1 57.2 46.3 55.8 53.4

(9.2) (6.1) (10.8 (6.5) (9.5) (9.0) (12.2 (9.2) (11.7 (7.9) (11.4 (6.7) (10.0 (7.0)

) ) ) ) )
Body mass index 17.4 16.3 19.1 16.2 19.1 18.4 19.6 18.5 20.9 19.5 21.0 19.1 21.2 21.1

(3.0) (2.2) (3.4) (1.8) (3.0) (3.2) (3.7) (2.5) (3.6) (2.8) (3.3) (2.0) (3.6) (3.4)
(BMI) - kg/m2
Height-weight- 43.8 44.2 43.3 44.7 43.5 43.5 43.6 43.8 42.8 43.2 43.0 43.5 42.6 42.2

(9.2) (2.2) (2.3) (1.6) $ (2.2) (2.3) (1.7) (2.2) (2.2) (2.0) (1.5) (2.4) (1.6)
Ratio HWR
(2.1)
(Ponderal index)
Sum of 4 Skinfolds 40.9 26.2 50.1 32.5 54.6 36.3 50.6 38.9 57.6 43.8 59.1 39.7 59.8 50.0

(17.4 (1.8) (20.0 (10.0 (18.7 (13.4 (17.6 (12.9 (18.6 (13.4 (17.8 (11.5 (26.1 (18.1
(Σ4SF)- mm
) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )
Percent body fat 29.8 26.2 33.3 27.0 33.3 29.7 33.4 28.8 35.6 30.1 36.7 29.0 38.6 32.6

(6.8) (1.8) (9.4) (2.8) (7.5) (12.9 (10.2 (4.3) (10.5 (5.1) (10.3 (3.1) (17.4 (8.1)
(% BF)
) ) ) ) )
Endomorphy 3.3 2.4 4.0 2.6 4.1 3.0 3.9 3.0 4.3 3.3 4.6 3.1 4.4 3.7

(1.4) (0.7) (1.5) (0.8) (1.3) (1.3) (1.3) (1.0) (1.2) (1.1) (1.5) (0.9) (1.7) (1.2)

Mesomorphy 3.2 3.0 3.4 3.1 2.8 3.4 2.8 3.2 2.9 3.3 4.6 3.1 4.4 3.7

(1.1) (1.0) (1.3) (1.0) (1.2) (1.3) (1.5) (1.1) (1.4) (1.5) (1.5) (0.9) (1.7) (1.2)

Ectomorphy 3.5 3.8 3.2 4.1 3.3 3.3 3.4 3.5 2.8 3.1 3.0 3.2 2.8 2.4

(1.5) (1.5) (1.6) (1.2) (1.5 (1.5) (1.5) (1.1) (1.6) (1.5) (1.3) (1.1) (1.5) (1.0)
)
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