PPT Slide

Recent history of menarche

1800 17.0 years

2000 12.5 years

Tanner, J: Harvard U. Press, 1978

Adair & Gordon-Larsen: A. J. Pub. Hlth., 2001

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Recent history shows age at menarche moving down.

Food, sanitation, good health, leading to more rapid growth, have been thought responsible for this secular trend.