ABSTRACT
Secular changes in growth and development can be
considered as the changing pattern of somatic
development of children in a particular population
from one generation to another. Secular changes
are well documented for stature, weight and age at
menarche (Hauspie etal. 1997). The quantitative
characteristics of the secular trend is estimated by
linear interpolation between the two end points of
the underlying time interval, which in studies of
children are usually at least 10 years apart (Danker-
Hopfe & Roczen 2000).
