Menarcheal Age and Nutritional Status of Sri Lankan Girls

The influence of several environmental factors on the mean age at menarche have been studied in Sri Lanka. Differences between urban and rural groups were reported by Wilson and Sutherland (1) and more recently Kodagoda and Rajapaksa (2). Findings from the studies on the influence of socio-economic level have not been consistent. Chinnathamby (3) reported a lowering of the mean age with increase in socio-economic conditions while Jayasekara and Gunawardena (4) could find no significant influence of the father's occupation or family size. The differences in the mean ago at menarche between Kandy and Nuwara Eliya school girls were attributed by us mainly to the differences in the socio-economic status (5). In a more recent study by Godawatta and Wikramanayake (6) the differences observed between Colombo amd Kadawata were attributed to differences in the socio-economic status. These workers also noted that the girls who had reached menarche are significantly taller, heavier and had higher body mass indexes than those who had not. Mid-arm circumference and the skinfold thickness too were found to be higher in those who had reached menarche. No other attempts have been made to study the influence of nutritional status on the age at menarche.