Cover -- Half-title -- Series-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Contributors -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Part I Growth data and growth studies: characteristics and methodological issues -- 1 Why study child growth and maturation? -- Introduction -- Definitions and foci -- Understanding human biology and physiology -- Growth charts, references and standards -- Growth as a bioassay of health and well-being -- Finale: body size, growth, and society -- REFERENCES -- 2 The human growth curve: distance, velocity and acceleration -- Introduction -- Basic growth description: a gentle introduction -- The statistical analysis of growth data -- Statistical model -- Use of the velocity in a clinical setting -- Growth in the First Zürich Longitudinal Study -- Statistics of the milestones in the First Zürich Longitudinal Study -- Distribution of the milestones and of anthropometric measurements -- General considerations -- Distributions in the First Zürich Longitudinal Study -- Stability of growth -- Conclusion -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT -- REFERENCES -- 3 Sampling for growth studies and using growth data to assess, monitor and survey disease in epidemiological settings -- Sampling for growth studies -- Sampling schemes -- Characteristics to evaluate sampling -- Types of samples -- Implications of type of sampling for analysis -- Sample size considerations -- Examples of sampling strategies -- Using growth data in epidemiological settings -- Indicating morbidity and mortality -- Assessing and monitoring child health and nutrition -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- REFERENCES -- 4 Measuring growth -- Introduction -- Measuring procedures -- Measurements -- Stature (stadiometer) -- Stadiometers -- Harpenden Stadiometer -- Portable stadiometers for screening and surveillance -- Sitting height (sitting-height table) -- Harpenden Sitting-Height Table.

Sitting-height tables for screening and surveillance -- Supine or recumbent length (Supine-length/recumbent-length table -- neonatometer) -- Crown-rump length (supine-length/recumbent-length table -- neonatometer) -- Harpenden Neonatometer -- Harpenden Infantometer -- Harpenden Infant Measuring Table -- Harpenden Supine Measuring Table -- Calibration -- Tibial length (anthropometer) -- Anthropometers -- The Martin anthropometer -- Harpenden anthropometer -- Biiliac diameter (anthropometer) -- Biepicondylar humerus (bicondylar vernier, anthropometer) -- Biepicondylar vernier -- Circumferences/girths (tape measure) -- Head circumference -- Arm circumference -- Waist circumference (abdominal circumference) -- Hip circumference (hip girth) -- Tape measures -- Skinfolds -- Triceps skinfold -- Biceps skinfold -- Subscapular skinfold -- Suprailiac skinfold -- Skinfold callipers -- Lange calliper -- Harpenden skinfold callipers -- Holtain (Tanner-Whitehouse) skinfold callipers -- Weight -- Weighing scales -- Surface landmarks -- Acromion process (lateral border of the acromion) -- Anterior superior iliac spine -- Biceps brachii -- Distal end of the radius -- External auditory meatus -- Femur epicondyles -- Frankfurt plane -- Gastrocnemius -- Glabella -- Gluteal fold -- Head of the radius -- Humeral epicondyles -- Iliac crest -- Malleoli -- Mastoid process -- Midaxillary line -- Midinguinal point (inguinal crease) -- Midpoint of the arm -- Occiput -- Olecranon -- Patella -- Pinna of the ear -- Radial styloid -- Scapula -- Sternum -- Trapezius -- Triceps -- Trochanters -- Ulna styloid -- Umbilicus -- Vertex of the skull -- REFERENCES -- 5 Measuring maturity -- Introduction -- Initial considerations -- Methods of assessment -- Skeletal development -- Radiation dosage -- Skeletal maturity methods -- Atlas techniques -- Bone-specific scoring techniques.

The Tanner-Whitehouse method -- The Roche-Wainer-Thissen technique -- The Fels hand-wrist technique -- Comparability of the atlas and bone-specific methods -- Reliability -- Population differences -- Secondary sexual development -- Breast development -- Genitalia development -- Pubic hair development -- Clinical evaluations -- Self-assessment of pubertal status -- A simplified pubertal questionnaire -- Age at menarche -- Secondary sexual events in boys -- Dental development -- Landmarks on the growth curve -- REFERENCES -- 6 Measuring body composition -- Introduction -- Basic concepts -- Body composition models -- Levels of organization -- Multicomponent models of body composition -- Assessment methodologies -- Anthropometry -- Weight-for-height ratios and assessment of obesity -- Body composition based on anthropometric prediction equations -- Other applications of anthropometric data in body composition assessment -- Densitometric methods -- Hydrodensitometry -- Air-displacement plethysmography -- Isotope dilution methods -- Bioelectrical methods -- Bioelectrical impedance analysis -- Total body electrical conductivity -- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry methods -- Total body potassium -- In vivo neutron activation analysis -- Computed tomography -- Magnetic resonance imaging -- Presentation and interpretation of body composition data in children -- Summary -- REFERENCE -- Part II Non-parametric and parametric approaches for individual growth -- 7 Kernel estimation, shape-invariant modelling and structural analysis -- Introduction -- The First Zürich Longitudinal Study -- Modelling longitudinal growth -- Kernel estimation -- Motivation and de.nition -- Choice of kernel -- Choice of bandwidth -- Application to growth data -- Shape-invariant modelling -- Structural analysis -- Concluding remarks -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT -- REFERENCES.

8 Parametric models for postnatal growth -- Why model growth data? -- Non-structural versus structural models -- Growth in infancy and childhood -- Growth at adolescence -- Logistic and Gompertz functions -- Preece-Baines model 1 (PB1) -- Growth from birth/early childhood to adulthood -- The BTT model -- The Shohoji-Sasaki or Count-Gompertz function -- The JPA-2 model -- Biological parameters and structural average curve -- Assumptions and goodness of fit -- Assumptions of non-linear regression -- Sensible model -- Gaussian distribution of the residuals -- Homoscedasticity -- Independence of residuals -- Goodness of fit -- REFERENCES -- 9 Parameter estimation in the context of non-linear longitudinal growth models -- Maximum likelihood estimation -- Example 1: Fitting the Jenss-Bayley model -- Maximum a posteriori estimation -- Example 2: Fitting the JPA-2 model -- Consistent estimation of the population mean and covariance matrix of the model parameters -- Maximum marginal likelihood estimation of the population means and covariances of the model parameters -- Allowance for non-homogeneous residuals at different ages -- Allowance for autocorrelated residuals -- Example 3: Estimation of a common autocorrelation function -- Readings -- REFERENCES -- Part III Methods for population growth -- 10 Univariate and bivariate growth references -- Purposes and uses of growth references -- Rationale for references -- Descriptive versus prescriptive references -- Purposes of anthropometry -- Presentation of growth references -- Indices of growth -- Distance, velocity and conditional references -- Modes of display -- Designing studies for the construction of growth references -- Reference populations -- Study designs -- Sample size -- Timing of measurements -- Analytic methods for construction of growth references -- Aims of analytic methods.

Empirical versus model-based estimation of size -- Incorporating variation across age for distance references -- Comparison of methods for constructing distance references -- Assessing fit of distance references -- Methods for constructing velocity and conditional references -- Recent examples of growth references -- 2000 CDC Growth Charts -- The World Health Organization Multicentre Growth Reference Study -- Cole et al. (2000) reference for body mass index -- Other recent growth references -- Future challenges for growth references -- Construction of growth references -- Use of growth references -- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS -- REFERENCES -- 11 Latent variables and structural equation models -- Introduction -- Latent variables -- Exploratory measurement model: PCA -- Example of a study using principal components analysis -- Socio-demographic characteristics -- Biological data -- ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS -- Individual nutritional survey -- Family socio-economic survey -- Statistical method -- Confirmatory measurement models -- Example of calculation of alpha -- Example of fitting a model -- Structural models -- Example of a structural model -- Data requirements -- Remarks and recommendations -- REFERENCES -- 12 Multilevel modelling -- Introduction -- Example data -- Cross-sectional versus longitudinal data -- Multilevel data structure -- Multilevel data layout -- Multilevel Analysis -- Brief history -- Development of the multilevel model -- Curve shaping -- Fit of the model -- Modelling strategy -- Centring data -- Worked example -- Final model of the example data -- Summary -- REFERENCES -- Part IV Special topics -- 13 Methods for the study of the genetics of growth and development -- Introduction -- Goals of genetic studies of growth -- Assessing the importance of genes -- Concept of heritability: definition and utility -- Familial study designs.

Twin studies.