Abstract: Objective: To analyse the effect of occurrence of menarche upon girls′physical growth and somatotypic distribution. Method: 1210 subjects aged 7 through 17 years. The time o f their menarcheal occurrence w ere investigated, and their physique were assessed by using the Heath-Carter Somatotype method. Results: The physical growth status of the post-menarcheal girls w ere found to be much higher than that of the pre-menarcheal girls, not only show n by their stature, body weight, body fa t, but also by their skeletal and muscle development. The young er the girls, the more significant the differences between the two groups w ere. In the girls whose menarche occurred less than one year, the growth tendency were still very strong, which let the difference of somatoty ping distribution be quite significant, not only between the pre-and post-menarcheal groups, but also between the girls whose menarche occurred recently and the girls w ho semenarche had already occurred more than one years ago. Conclusion: the effects of the occurrence of menarche upon the girls 'somatotype, especially upon the endomorphy component ( reflecting the amount o f body fat restored in the body ) are strong. Several analystic results draw n from this study a re useful, both o n the physical anthropological research field and the practice o f selection of young sportswomen.

Key words: Menarche, Physical growth, Heath-Carter somatotyping method