ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the relationship between maturation and motor performance. It calculates body mass index (BMI) and describes changes in BMI across the human lifespan. The chapter also describes anticipated changes in proportional body growth for the ratio of head length to total body length, head circumference, sitting height, shoulder and hip width, and physique classifications. It presents a number of growth charts published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The human organism spends approximately one-quarter of the lifespan in a state of physical growth. Certainly, physical, intellectual, and emotional changes are clearly evident as babies grow into toddlers and school-age children. Physical changes are markedly noticeable in the developmental stage known as adolescence. Although early maturation may give boys an early athletic advantage, the opposite generally is true for girls. With the exception of swimming, female athletic participation is associated with delayed biological maturation.
