Evo-Devo of Child Growth III: Premature Juvenility as an Evolutionary Trade-Off

Juvenility was previously defined as a distinct clinical life history stage, characterized by adrenarche, decelerating growth and accelerating adiposity. This review presents the theory of evolutionary predictive adaptive strategies for premature juvenility in response to (mostly) energy supply, but also to other environmental cues. In the absence of longitudinal adrenal androgen levels, premature juvenility can be diagnosed by auxological criteria. Syndromes of short stature that are associated with premature juvenility include Prader-Willi syndrome, Silver-Russell syndrome and Noonan syndrome, and it is part of the pygmy adaptive shortness of stature. The review elucidates in evolutionary terms the association of premature juvenility with SGA and PCOS.