Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the physical characteristics of early adolescent girls by age. A total of 529 girls aged between 10 and 14 were measured and data were collected from 42 anthropometric and 41 photographic measurements per a person. SAS 8.1 was used in data analysis including means, standard deviations, t-test, Duncan test and frequency analysis. The results of this study are as follows. Most items related to height and length increased significantly at the age of $10\sim11$ and the growth slowed down at the age of $13\sim14$. As for items related to circumference, the growth rate was high at the age of $11\sim12$, and gradually slowed down afterward. Out of circumference items, hip circumference showed the highest growth rate. As for items related to thickness and width, thickness-related items grew quickly at the age of $10\sim12$, and among which bust thickness showed the highest growth rate. As for drop, the difference between hip circumference and waist circumference was most remarkable, but the difference between hip circumference and bust circumference was not large. The largest number of subjects had their menarche during the age of $11\sim12$ and, after menarche, their horizontal growth became active.

Keywords

• physical characteristics;
• adolescent girls;
• menarche

• 인체특성;
• 청소년기 여학생;
• 초경;