Females’ pubertal status was assessed using four items: (i) ‘As people reach adolescence, their bodies begin to change. As a girl grows up her breasts develop and get bigger. Which sentence best describes you?’ Response options ranged from 1. “My breasts are about the same size as when I was in grade school” to 5. “My breasts are a whole lot bigger than when I was in grade school, they are as developed as a grown woman’s breasts” (In the USA, children attend grade school between the ages of 6-10 years). (ii) ‘As a girl grows up her body becomes more curved. Which sentence best describes you?’ Response options ranged from 1. “My body is about as curvy as when I was in grade school”, to 5. “My body is a whole lot more curvy than when I was in grade school”. (iii) Females responded to a question which asked if they had ever had a menstrual period. If they answered “yes” to this question they were asked the follow-up question: ‘How old were you when you had your first
