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Bhasin et a1..1990; Gupta et a1..1990; Joshi et a/., 1994; Singh et a1.,1996). Qamra
(1990~) observed that girls who consumed inadequate calories were significantly
smaller than girls who consumed adequate calories. Moreover, ~n h~study he found
that while 91.2% of girls from the LSES consumed inadequate calories, only 38.2% of
girls from the USES did so. This probably explained the better growth of girls from the
USES. Spatial variation in growth pattern is also observed in d~fferent parts of the
country. Girls from South India were shorter by 2.0%4.5% than their counterparts from
North India, especially between 9-13 years. However, they became comparable by the
age of 17 years of age (Chattejee and Mandal.1991). Likewise, it was observed that
boys between 9-18 years of age from West Bengal were taller and heavier than the
South Indian boys (Chattejee and Manda1.1994). This variation could be as a result of
d~fferent environmental conditions, nutritional status and socioeconomic conditions.
The educational level of parents also might have a significant impact on growth and
nutrit~on (Chattejee and Manda1,1994).
(ii) Menarche
Menarche IS an important biological event in a girl's life. It is not only a landmark in a
girl's developmental process, but the age at menarche is also an indirect indicator of
her health and nutritional status. The averageage at menarche is generally between
12-14 years. However, in some studies the mean age at menarche was 11.5 years and
In some, it was observed to be well over 14 years (Logamabal and Rao,1979;
Singh,1986). The timing of menarche is detenn~ned by the girl attaining a certain body
weight ard also height (Vir,1990; Ludwig,1994; Kuteyi et a/.,1997). A strong and
Positive association was found between the nutritional status and attainment of
menarche (Kuteyi et aL,1997). The mean age at menarche was lower In affluent girls,