The tempo and timing of puberty: associations with early adolescent weight gain and body composition over three years

ABSTRACT Background Earlier timing, and possibly faster tempo, of puberty is associated with overweight and obesity (Ow/Ob). However, most studies consider these concepts separately when investigating the implications to adolescent weight gain. Aim To assess pubertal timing and tempo associations with weight gain over early-mid adolescence. Subjects and methods This study analyzed data from 263 healthy adolescents (10–13y at recruitment) who were followed annually for three years. Growth models were employed to estimate timing and tempo of peak height growth and self-reported Tanner stage (TS) change. Timing and tempo variables were assessed against anthropometry and body composition change via mixed models (data: estimate [95% confidence interval]). Results In girls, earlier height and TS change were associated with higher BMI z-score (height: −0.51 [−0.85, −0.17], p = 0.004; TS: −0.43 [−0.67, −0.20], p < 0.001) and waist-to-height ratio (height: −0.02 [−0.04, −0.00]) 0.025; TS: −0.01 [−0.03, −0.00]; p = 0.028). There were no consistent findings for pubertal tempo among girls. In boys, earlier timing and slower tempo of height growth consistently related to higher adiposity across all anthropometric and body fat variables (all p < 0.01). Timing and tempo of TS change showed no consistent findings among boys. Conclusion Relative to pubertal tempo, girls with earlier height and TS change exhibited significantly higher BMI z-score and waist-to-height ratio. This finding corroborates strong evidence linking earlier female puberty with elevated adiposity. In boys, timing and tempo of height growth showed independent but compensatory relationships with anthropometry and body composition. This suggests the risk of excess weight gain in boys may be less attributable to puberty compared to other risk factors.