BACKGROUND:Healthy biological maturationinyoung girls is crucialfortheir future reproductive health. The continuous monitoringoftheir physical development is criticalforearly identificationofany health problems. AIM:This study aimedtoidentifythe100-year trendofgirls’ growth and developmentin thecityofMoscow. METHODS:The study focusedon thephysical characteristicsofMoscow schoolgirls overaperiodof100years (1920–2020), including their body height and weight, chest circumference, right-hand grip strength, and timeofmenarche. In this study,atotalof4581girls aged 8–17years were observed from 2003to2020. The obtained data were compared with those documentedin“Materialson thePhysical DevelopmentofChildren and AdolescentsinUrban and Rural Areasof theUSSR (Russia),” coveringtheperiod from1920 to2013. The Kolmogorov–Smirnov normality test was usedtodeterminethenormalityofdistribution. The differences were considered significantatt≥2.0 (p0.05). RESULTS: Comparative analysis of the physical development of Moscow schoolgirls across decades showed an increase of 3–5 cm in the body height and a significant increase in the chest circumference among all age groups of girls at the beginning of the 21st century compared with their peers in the 1960s and 1980s, indicating the completed processes of gracilization that had been observed since the 1980s. The mean body height of 8-year-old schoolgirls in 2003 was 129.12 ± 0.47 cm compared to 125.66 ± 0.32 cm in those in the 1960s (p0.001). Additionally,themean chest circumference was 62.34±0.44cm in2003 and 60.50±0.22cminthe1960s (p 0.008).Moreover,adecreasein theright-hand grip strength has been notedinall age groups (9-year-old girls: 13.2 ± 0.2kgin the1960s and 6.9 ± 0.1kg in2003;p 0.001). Earlier menarche has been documentedinmodern Moscow schoolgirls, withan average ageof12years and 9months. This phenomenon is accompanied byashiftin thechronologyofgrowth patterns toward earlier stages. The ageoffirst menstruation (menarche) varies with family income. CONCLUSION:Overacentury-long period, Moscow schoolgirls have shown increased total body size and earlier biological maturation.
Milushkina et al. (2025) studied this question.