Differences in adult height between well-off north-west Indians and Britains as a product of lower height gain per unit bone maturity advance during the adolescent years

Abstract

Attained mean heights of well-off North-west Indian children showed close parity with British children up to 12 years in girls and 14 years in boys. Thereafter their attained means become less, resulting in shorter mean adult stature. Comparison of the tempo-unconditional single 1-year velocities of height showed that the total adolescent gain in both the populations was similar. The shorter mean adult height in well-off North-west Indians could be explained by lower height gain per unit RUS bone maturity score advance (growth potential). This may result from tropical climate and lower amounts of circulating calcium.