The standards texts in human physical growth and development are:
James M. Tanner "Fetus Into Man: Physical Growth from Conception to Maturity
" (Tanner is the "father" of studies of human growth, has been for decades)
Paperback Rev&enlrgd edition, December 1990, Harvard Univ Pr; ISBN:
0674306929
Phyllis Eveleth and James Tanner "Worldwide Variation in Human Growth"
Paperback 2nd edition, February 1991, Cambridge Univ Pr (Pap Txt); ISBN:
0521359163
Barry Bogin "Patterns of Human Growth" Paperback, May 1988, Cambridge Univ
Pr (Pap Txt); ISBN: 0521346908 [I think there is a new version of this]
Robert M. Malina and Claude Bouchard "Growth, Maturation, and Physical
Activity"
Hardcover (January 1991), Blackwell Science Inc; ISBN: 0873223217
None of these address issues of breastfed vs. bottle-fed growth, and
Tanner's book is based almost entirely on studies of English children, not
taking into account cultural impacts on growth such as physical activity
(for instance, he says adolescent boys have more upper body strength and
muscles just because they are boys, not realizing that adolescent girls have
more upper body strength and muscles in cultures where they do more work
than boys).
Be wary of books about "Human Growth and Development" that include social,
cognitive, and emotional development, as they usually contain NOTHING about
physical growth (weight, height, etc.).
Kathy Dettwyler
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