In the Caracas Longitudinal Study, 53 girls- 8 to 11 years of age- who had been classified as early, average and late maturers were analyzed longitudinally with respect to Body Mass Index (BMI) and Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP). A longitudinal principal component analysis was used to summarize trends or intraindividual changes in BMI and SBP. A first component was identified for BMI, this component accounted for most of its total variance (94.65 per cent). Girls were classified as normal in weight or at risk of overweight on the basis of this component. Three principal components were identified for SBP, that accounted for 91.83 per cent of the total variance of this variable. The first component represented a measure of position across the whole age period, a "canalization pattern"; this component accounted for most of the total variance (45.65 per cent). The second component revealed an unidirectional change in relative position of the values of the variable, a "decanalization pattern", and a third pattern summarized deviations around a position level: "recanalization pattern". Girls who showed a canalization pattern for SBP were those identified as early maturers and at risk of overweight.