Cross-validation of the Beunen–Malina method to predict adult height

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to cross-validate the Beunen-Malina method for non-invasive prediction of adult height. Three hundred and eight boys aged 13, 14, 15 and 16 years from the Madeira Growth Study were observed at annual intervals in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and re-measured 7-8 years later. Height, sitting height and the triceps and subscapular skinfolds were measured; skeletal age was assessed using the Tanner-Whitehouse 2 method. Adult height was measured and predicted using the Beunen-Malina method. Maturity groups were classified using relative skeletal age (skeletal age minus chronological age). Pearson correlations, mean differences and standard errors of estimate (SEE) were calculated. Age-specific correlations between predicted and measured adult height vary between 0.70 and 0.85, while age-specific SEE varies between 3.3 and 4.7 cm. The correlations and SEE are similar to those obtained in the development of the original Beunen-Malina method. The Beunen-Malina method is a valid method to predict adult height in adolescent boys and can be used in European populations or populations from European ancestry. Percentage of predicted adult height is a non-invasive valid method to assess biological maturity.

Prediction of male basketball players' adult stature from the age of 13 years using chronological age and maturity

“…Age-specific correlations between predicted and measured adult stature vary between 0.7 and 0.74 at 13 and 14 years of age respectively. Moreover, mean differences and standard errors of estimate (SEE) of predicted adult stature are respectively 2.3 cm and 4.7 cm at 13 years of age [30].…”

Assessment of biological maturation in adolescent athletes: application of different methods with soccer and hockey players

“…The use of predictor variables take into consideration the differential timing of the adolescent spurt in body segments and changes in subcutaneous fat that occur during adolescence. The BeunenMalina method for predicting mature stature was recently validated on longitudinal data from the Madeira Growth Study (Beunen et al, 2007). Correlations between measured and predicted mature height for each cohort (13, 14, 15, 16 years) ranged between 0.66 and 0.83.…”

Equação preditora de idade óssea na iniciação esportiva através de variáveis antropométricas

“…The use of these methods becomes an important step beyond the subjectiveness still present in the process of selection and promotion of talents in sports, allowing the approach of relations between the variables and the observation of the importance of them in the different development stages 22,23 . In the work of sports initiation there is a tendency to select individuals who present early physical development over those with expected or late development, since they present competitive advantages and superiority in morphological standards.…”