| Abstract: | The relationships between skeletal age (SA) and limb composition (arms, legs, and all four limbs) in terms of fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), muscle mass (MM) and bone mineral content (BMC) were investigated in 55 males and 53 females aged 9–15 years. The Fels method was used to assess hand-wrist SAs which were expressed as SA/chronological age (SA/CA). The limb composition data were obtained from a Lunar dual-energy x-ray absorptiometer using 3.6z software. The means for the limb composition variables increased gradually with age except in males for whom FM decreased from 12 to 13 years, and FFM and MM increased markedly from 13 to 14 years. There were similar findings when the limb composition data were expressed as percentages of body weight. All of the regressions of SA/CA on limb composition variables had positive slopes. Each of the slopes was significant for males, but nonsignificant for females. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc. |
