In this study, the patterns of height growth in reference with difference in height were analyzed in terms of growth distance and velocity. Subjects were the 17-year-old high school boys (N=551) in Nagoya City who were born in 1967, and divided into three height groups-high (N=139), middle (N=200) and low (N=112) groups-classified by the height at the age of seventeen, and their 12-year-longitudinal data of height were obtained retrospectively from their health examination records. Individual growth distance curves and velocity curves were calculated, and their peak height velocity ages (PHV ages) were determined by the age showing the maximum growth amount. With the appearance frequency distribution of PHV age investigated, it was inferred that low-height group matured earlier in height growth than those high and middle-height groups. With regard to the growth distance curve of the three height groups, it was shown that the difference in height was found between different PHV ages only at around the PHV ages in the high-height group. However, such differences due to different PHV ages were found at all the ages investigated in the low- and middle-height groups. Analysis of growth velocity curves in the three height groups showed that those having the same maturity rate did not differ much in their patterns of the growth velocity curve. The patterns of growth velocity curve, regardless of height differences, showed a one-phase pattern. Further analysis on differences in amount of growth immediately before and after the PHV age (peak period) showed three types of growth pattern. These types could be interpreted as "early maturity type" which has higher amount of growth immediately after the peak than immediately before, "average type" which has equal amount of grorth in the two periods, and "late maturity type" which has higher amount of growth immediately before the peak than the after. The relationship between PHV age and the amount of growth around during the adolescent growth spurt showed that early maturers, regardless of height differences, attained higher amount of growth around during this period. It could be inferred reasonably that this has a substantial relevance on the amount of growth in the period immediately after PHV age.
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