Does obesity cause precocious pubertal voice changes in adolescent boys: Evaluating the critical weight hypothesis in the Indian adolescents

Abstract

Objectives: The present study was taken up with the aim of investigating the effect of obesity and underweight on the occurrence of vocal mutation in adolescent boys. Materials and Methods: The study followed a cross-sectional study design. Ninety male participants in the age range of 14-17 years were classified into three groups based on the body mass index (BMI) which include underweight, normal weight, overweight/obese. Praat software (version 5.1.43) was used for the analysis of voice samples and speaking fundamental frequency was extracted from all the samples. Results: The results of the present study revealed significant main effect of the group (F = 5.732; P < 0.05). Results of post hoc analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between all the three groups at P < 0.05. Conclusion: The present study investigated the effect of BMI values on the occurrence of vocal mutation in the age range of 14-17 years in adolescent boys. The results revealed that obesity and underweight caused delay in the attainment of vocal mutation in the male adolescents. Hence, the present study does not favor the critical weight hypothesis at least in the vocal mutation in the Indian male adolescents.