title: Stability of somatotypes in 4 to 10 year-old rural South African girls.
abstract: In 1996, a mixed Ellisras longitudinal study (ELS) was initiated to assess the stability of somatotypes in 408 girls who comprised 99 pre-school and 309 primary school children in Ellisras rural area in the Northern Province of South Africa. The children's somatotype was assessed using the Heath-Carter anthropometric method. Anthropometric dimensions were taken according to the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). The most stable pre-school and primary school girl had migratory distances (MDs) of 2.6 and 3.4, respectively, while the least stable pre-school and primary school girl had MDs of 17.9 and 24.4, respectively. The mean somatotype of the pre-school children was mesomorph-ectomorph throughout the complete age range, while the mean somatotype of primary school girls was mesomorph-ectomorph for all the age groups except for the 9.5 years group at which it was in the balanced ectomorph. The inter-age partial correlations for endomorphy and ectomorphy were high and significant, but insignificant with regard to mesomorphy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of the North, Sovenga, South Africa. Monyekik@unin.unorth.ac.za
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Monyeki
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Toriola
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: de Ridder
authors.forename: H C G
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kemper
authors.forename: N P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Steyn
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Nthangeni
authors.forename: J W R
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Twisk
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: van Lenthe
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000886:Anthropometry; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012737:Sex Factors; D013008:Somatotypes; D013019:South Africa / Q000208:ethnology