Puberty Series: Intro/Index
It’s hard to believe, but less than eighty years ago humanity didn’t even have a clue about nutrition let alone what constituted adequate nutrition for a child, let alone a child in puberty!
During the war, there were developing so many refugee children that needed to be cared for by institutions that Great Britan decided to undertake a simple study about what “growth” looked like in children. Nothing was known about that of substance either.
Dr. James Mourilyan Tanner was asked to take over a nutrition study of institutionalized children with the intent of seeing to it that the children still grew well—whatever “well” looked like. He agreed to do it, used the scientific method, devised what is now still the definitive study on growth and puberty (the Tanner Scale) and the rest is history.
This series of posts is all about that. What it is, how it came to be, how it’s used and what we know about the study of puberty.
10 Posts in "Puberty Talk" Series
- Puberty, Tanner Series: Intro/Index – 11 Jul 2015
Puberty and the Tanner Scale, it's development, rationale and use in adolescent medicine, intro and index - Tanner Stages and Growth – 12 Jul 2015
An explanation of the "five stages" of puberty that Dr. James Tanner developed, the physical characteristics and issues. - Tanner & Growth - Girls – 20 Jul 2015
The physical stages of "Puberty" for girls as explained by the "Tanner Stages" one through five: it's characteristics and issues. - Tanner Stages - Boys – 28 Jul 2015
The physical stages of "Puberty" for boys as explained by the "Tanner Stages" one through five: it's characteristics and issues. - Puberty: Psychological Stages – 5 Aug 2015
Part one of the explanation about the psychological issues experienced in the first four Tanner Stages of pubertal development. - Puberty: Psychological Stages - Part 2 – 13 Aug 2015
Part 2 of the discussion about the psychological states of puberty dealing with the last two "Tanner Stages" of development. - Video: Puberty Time Lapse – 5 Jul 2017
A child's growth and development always interests a pediatrician. I ran across an effort by a parent to document his child's trip into adulthood with something more than the obligatory photo in a bathtub or school photos. It's an interesting journey into maturity which they will probably both watch many times and a valuable way to document what it took to get where they are now. No wonder teens eat so much and need so much sleep. - Doctor's Talking About Puberty and Sex to Patients – 28 Aug 2017
This post is about a study I found where researchers examined how well doctors do at teaching and helping patients with sexual related issues. - FAQ - Boxers, Brief's or Commando – 28 Aug 2018
A preliminary answer to a puzzled teens online question to his doctor after being embarrassed by girls at a party who asked him "what do you wear, boxers, briefs or commando?" He asked, "is there a best?" and his doctor asked if I'd take a crack at answering him. - Boys Underwear: Boxers, Briefs or Commando - explanation, recommendations – 22 Sep 2018
A probably way too exhaustive post giving an answer to an embarrassed teens question: "Is there a 'best' one: boxer, brief or commando?"
If you’d like to read a bit more about historical medicine, you’d do well to peruse the Top 50 Doctors of All Time series as well.