title: Timing of Puberty in Overweight Versus Obese Boys.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Studies of the relationship of weight status with timing of puberty in boys have been mixed. This study examined whether overweight and obesity are associated with differences in the timing of puberty in US boys.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reanalyzed recent community-based pubertal data from the American Academy of Pediatrics' Pediatric Research in Office Settings study in which trained clinicians assessed boys 6 to 16 years for height, weight, Tanner stages, testicular volume (TV), and other pubertal variables. We classified children based on BMI as normal weight, overweight, or obese and compared median age at a given Tanner stage or greater by weight class using probit and ordinal probit models and a Bayesian approach.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Half of boys (49.9%, n = 1931) were white, 25.8% (n = 1000) were African American, and 24.3% (n = 941) were Hispanic. For genital development in white and African American boys across a variety of Tanner stages, we found earlier puberty in overweight compared with normal weight boys, and later puberty in obese compared with overweight, but no significant differences for Hispanics. For TV (≥3 mL or ≥4 mL), our findings support earlier puberty for overweight compared with normal weight white boys.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a large, racially diverse, community-based sample of US boys, we found evidence of earlier puberty for overweight compared with normal or obese, and later puberty for obese boys compared with normal and overweight boys. Additional studies are needed to understand the possible relationships among race/ethnicity, gender, BMI, and the timing of pubertal development.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Endocrinology/Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, and joyclee@umich.edu.
authors.forename: Joyce M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Research in Office Settings, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois; Department of Pediatrics, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont;
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wasserman
authors.affiliation: Center for Human Growth and Development, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan;
authors.forename: Niko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kaciroti
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Endocrinology/Child Health Evaluation and Research Unit, and.
authors.forename: Achamyeleh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gebremariam
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Research in Office Settings, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois;
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steffes
authors.affiliation: Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware;
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dowshen
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Research in Office Settings, American Academy of Pediatrics, Elk Grove Village, Illinois;
authors.forename: Donna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Continuity Research Network of the Academic Pediatric Association, McLean, Virginia;
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Serwint
authors.affiliation: NMAPedsNet, National Medical Association, Washington, District of Columbia;
authors.forename: Dianna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Abney
authors.affiliation: NMAPedsNet, National Medical Association, Washington, District of Columbia;
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Smitherman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Baystate Children's Hospital, Tufts University School of Medicine, Springfield, Massachusetts; and.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reiter
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Marcia E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Herman-Giddens
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005006:Ethnicity; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology; D050177:Overweight / Q000208:ethnology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011627:Puberty / Q000208:ethnology / Q000502:physiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology