A Monte Carlo test of weight as a critical factor in menarche, compared with bone age and measures of height, width, and sexual development.

ABSTRACT

The correlation coefficients for each of nine traits measured at menarche (bone age, pubic hair and breast stages, and five physical measurements) have been calculated. These have been compared with the corresponding correlation coefficients obtained by using a Monte Carlo technique, where the ages of menarche are randomly redistributed over the sample. The difference between the random and actual results are most pronounced for bone age, sitting height and the development of pubic hair and breasts, showing that these characteristics may indeed be critically related to menarche, while the same differences for weight, height, sitting height/height, and biacromial and bi-iliocristal diameters show that these latter are only moderately related to menarche. These results do not support the exclusivity of body weight as a critical factor in menarche (critical body weight hypothesis).