weight gain in adolescent girls
According to Robert Malina, an expert on childhood growth, adolescents gain weight and height in a predictable pattern, with height growth occurring first, followed by weight gain, or what I like to call âfilling out.â. The average peak height gain in girls occurs between 11 and 13, and in boys between 13 and 15 years of age. The lean tissue (muscles and bones) weight gain during this time is about 15 pounds for girls and twice that for boys (~30 pounds). Girls gain more fat (~6 pounds) on average than boys (~3 pounds) at this time as well. Given these norms for adolescent growth (and the signs that go along with it), you can begin to see that an important transformation happens in teens, and much of it is to be expected.