ABSTRACT
The growth pattern of a child is the result of a continuous interaction between the child’s genes and environment. This includes the socioeconomic environment of the family and school as well as the ecological environment of the district and country. Changes in the growth pattern, therefore, reflect changes in one or more of these factors.368 It is not easy to assess the extent to which different variables such as genetics, growth hormones, maturity timing and rates, nutrition, and physical activity affect the anthropometric development of children. All variables are important in physique changes. However, length and breadth measures of the skeleton are more genetically determined than body mass and skinfold thicknesses, which are more environmentally dependent.109
