The purposes of the study were 1) to examine indices of
sexual maturation in athlete girls having predominantly
endo-, meso- and ectomorph physique; 2) to demonstrate
alterations in somatotype by breast maturation. 813 pubertal
athlete girls (aged between 10 and 17 years) belonging to
different sports events were studied. Somatotype was
determined by the Heath–Carter method. Somatotype dominance
was decided arbitrarily: the cut-off point was 4.75 unit for
the dominant component. The other two components were minimum
1.5 unit below the dominant one. Breast development was rated
according to Tanner’s suggestions. Data for menarche were
collected by “status-quo” method. The age medians of
maturation indices were calculated.
Athletes with endomorph dominance matured the earliest.
Mesomorphs started to develop their sexual characteristic
later than endomorphs and had the latest completion of breast
maturation. Girls with ectomorph predominance matured the
latest and the fastest. Meso- and ectomorphs preserved their
dominant component during breast maturation. Similarly to
normal pubescent girls, they increased their relative
fatness, but in a different rate. Staying in the mesomorphic
endomorph field, endomorphs did not change their body form as
maturation proceeded
