1960s cohorts’ delayed puberty

A new analysis of NHANES and precursor surveys finds U.S. males born in the 1960s had later or smaller adolescent growth spurts than 1950s cohorts, ending up the same height in adulthood after catching up later. Females didn’t show height differences but did experience later menarche than those born a decade earlier. The result points to changes in growth tempo rather than final size. — It challenges the standard narrative of uniformly earlier puberty over time and invites investigation of cohort‑specific environmental, nutritional, or health factors that shape development.