Linear Growth Spurts are Preceded by Higher Weight Gain Velocity and Followed by Weight Slowdowns Among Rural Children in Burkina Faso: A Longitudinal Study.

Use of velocity measures to assess temporal dependencies between linear and ponderal growth demonstrate that the same growth-limiting conditions likely affect both length and weight velocity, that slow ponderal growth likely limits subsequent linear growth, and that linear growth spurts may not be accompanied by sufficient increases in dietary intake to avoid slowdowns in weight gain.