Growth and development of adolescent girls from the Segou Region of Mali (West Africa).

In Mali, adolescent girls face many physical stresses which, with a history of poor nutrition, can result in delayed growth and development. Despite the fact that adolescent girls encounter nutritional demands, most research in Mali has focused only on young children. This study examines anthropometric and reproductive data on 1,056 adolescent girls (aged 10-17 years) from the Segou Region of Mali. When compared to the reference population, the Malian girls exhibited poorer indicators of growth and development. Z-scores for height-for-age and weight-for-age were below 0 at all ages. Urban girls had better indicators of growth than rural girls. The body composition data show that the Malian girls have lower body fat than reference girls. Menarche was delayed by about 1.5 years compared to girls from the United States and Europe. Delayed growth and development may be due to many factors, including a history of undernutrition, poor socioeconomic status, and increased energy demands. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.