“…Most population growth studies are crosssectional, often because of the time, expense, and effort associated with longitudinal studies. With sufficiently large samples sizes, cross-sectional data approximate longitudinal growth patterns (Tanner, 1986;Johnston, 1974). Longitudinal patterns, whether inferred from cross-sectional data or measured directly in longitudinal studies, are informative because they indicate the rate of growth, the timing of the adolescent growth spurt, and attainment of adult size.…”