Auxology of Sri Lankan children age 5 to 18 years 3.. sitting height and sub-ischial leg length

Abstract

Sitting height (SH), leg length (LL) and the rati, SH/TH have been studied in 9070 school children between 5 and 18 years, SH and LL are not influenced by ethnicity. SH, LL and the overall increment in LL are socio-economic dependent during pre-adolescence. LL velocity is greater than SH velocity during pre-adolescence , so that LL catches up with SH before puberty, which occurs earlier in children of a higher socio-economic status. Children who become tall are those with a high LL velocity during pre-adolescence and a high SH velosity after puberty. Neither poverty nor ethnicity have any influence on the relative propotion of SH to stature.