title: The heights and weights of secondary school girls in Benin City, Nigeria.
abstract: A cross-sectional study of the heights and weights of secondary school girls in Benin City, Nigeria, aged 11-20 years was carried out with a view to providing baseline data for these physical characteristics. The overall mean height and weight of the population studied were 158.0 +/- 7.2 cm and 49.4 +/- 7.9 kg respectively. The heights and weights increased rapidly with age until 14 years, more gradually until age 17 years after which the height remained static while the weight continued to increase gradually. The finding indicates that in our population, significant increase in height should not be expected after age 17 years. Socio-economic factors (income level) did not significantly affect heights and weights in the age group studied. An attempt is made to explain the differences in the growth patterns of our girls compared with their counterparts from the developed countries.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001827:Body Height; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth; D006801:Humans; D009549:Nigeria; D012016:Reference Values; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students