Rural–urban variations in age at menarche, adult height, leg-length and abdominal adiposity in black South African women in transitioning South Africa

AbstractBackground: The pre-pubertal socioeconomic environment may be an important determinant of age at menarche, adult height, body proportions and adiposity: traits closely linked to adolescent and adult health.Aims: This study explored differences in age at menarche, adult height, relative leg-length and waist circumference between rural and urban black South African young adult women, who are at different stages of the nutrition and epidemiologic transitions.Subjects and methods: We compared 18–23 year-old black South African women, 482 urban-dwelling from Soweto and 509 from the rural Mpumalanga province. Age at menarche, obstetric history and household socio-demographic and economic information were recorded using interview-administered questionnaires. Height, sitting-height, hip and waist circumference were measured using standardised techniques.Results: Urban and rural black South African women differed in their age at menarche (at ages 12.7 and 14.5 years, respectively). In urban women, a one-ye...