Order of birth and growth in weight and height of Punjabi girls from 6 to 12 years.

Abstract

Prepubertal Punjabi girls ranging in age from 16 to 12 years and belonging to lower and lower-middle socio-economic groups were included in the study. The data on 692 girls for weight, height and sitting height were collected during 1974–75 from various schools of Patiala city. The differences in body weight, height and sitting height at various ages among different birth ranking girls are non-significant. The physical growth patterns among different groups are almost similar. The home environment which can reasonably be assumed to be better for the first child has little if any impact on the physical growth of Punjabi girls.