title: Analysis of limb segments length and body proportion of southern Chinese children and adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This cross-sectional study was designed to characterize by age the ratios of limb segments length to height and extremities-trunk ratio and body proportions of southern Chinese children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected from students (n = 4715) from five school, aged 6-17 years, in the city of Chongqing. Their standing height, sitting height, arm span, forearm length, upper arm length, leg length, lower leg length, and ratios of extremities to trunk length were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sitting height, forearm length, upper arm length, arm span, and lower leg length were highly correlated with standing height (r > 0.9; P < 0.05). The ratio of extremities to trunk increased till about 13 years of age for both genders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The length of extremities and their ratio to sitting height reflect regular changes of growth in Chinese children as their age, and limb segments length is highly correlated with height.
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, the Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Min
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, the Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Jiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, the Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, the Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, the Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Shu-Juan
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology, the Children's Hospital, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Yue-Shuang
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Cun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000886:Anthropometry / Q000379:methods*; D044466:Asian People; D001827:Body Height / Q000208:ethnology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005121:Extremities; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
keywords: body proportion; children and adolescent; forearm length; lower leg length; upper arm length