Relative lower extremity length in Mexican American and in American black and white youth

Stature, sitting height, estimated leg (subischial) length and the sitting height/stature ratio are compared in Mexican American, American White and American Black boys 9 through 14 years of age and girls 12 through 17 years of age. Mexican American youth are shorter in stature and have absolutely shorter lower extremities. The sitting height of Mexican American youth is similar to that of Black youth and shorter than that of White youth. The sitting height/stature ratio is virtually identical in Mexican American and White youth, indicating similar proportions of lower extremities to stature. In contrast, Black youth have absolutely and relatively longer lower extremities than Mexican American and White youth. These results would thus seem to suggest that reference data for the body mass index (BMI) based on American White youth can be used with Mexican American youth, while race-specific values may be necessary for American Black youth. However, ethnic variation in physique, perhaps frame size, may be a factor which should be more systematically considered in evaluating the utility of the body mass index.     

Bio-cultural effects in medieval populations

Male skeletons from medieval archaeological sites are analysed to assess differences in stature and body proportions related to the bio-cultural environment, such as social, economic, and health factors. Environmental factors, such as climate change in the course of the Middle Ages, did not have statistically significant effect on body proportions in these samples. The results show a relationship between bio-cultural factors and physique in the analysed populations that indicate stunted growth in height and weight in a leprosarium population with a low socio-economic and health status. A high-status monastic population is characterised by a stocky build, i.e., increased weight for height and relatively shorter limbs, while a medieval parish population has a linear build, i.e., relatively long limbs for height and decreased weight for height. These characteristics, relative weight for height and relative limb length, changed during the course of the Middle Ages, as did stature.     

Associations between Skeletal Growth in Childhood and Cognitive Function in Mid-Life in a 53-Year Prospective Birth Cohort Study

Background

Several studies have found that shorter stature (height and limb length) in late life is associated with dementia and cognitive impairment. The extent to which childhood environment and early life cognitive function accounts for these associations is not clear.

Methods

We investigated associations of adult trunk height and leg length with cognitive function in middle age, analysing data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development: a cohort followed from birth to age 53, 1677 of whom had data on all covariates. The four cognitive tests measured verbal ability, word list memory, verbal fluency and speed/concentration. Early life environmental measures included parental education, poverty, parental divorce, physical health, cognitive ability at age 15, own education and own adult social class.

Results

After adjusting for gender, shorter trunk length was associated with lower cognitive function on all four tests and shorter leg length with lower verbal intelligence and word list memory. These associations were only partially attenuated following adjustment for childhood adversity/health but were substantially accounted for by cognitive ability at age 15.

Conclusions

Shorter stature was associated with lower cognitive function at age 53, the majority of this association being accounted for by cognitive function at age 15. Reduced cognitive reserve may well account for later associations between anthropometric measures and dementia.     

Secular trends in anthropometrical measurements observed in three to 11-year-old French children between 1953 and 2005

This study covers a fifty-year period between 1953 and 2005 and looks at secular trends in stature, weight and sitting height sizes among French boys and girls between the ages of 3 and 11. A special modelling in function to the age and variable for each child was established so that a comparison could be made in the kinetic growth patterns over these same two periods. Statistical analysis shows a significant increase in growth, of 0.8cm per decade in stature, characterised by a certain increase in the lower limbs and the weight (0.8kg per decade) together with a proportional increase on the body mass index. Positive secular trends of this anthropometric nature are generally thanks to improved eating and sanitary habits and this study enables us to build and elaborate new standards in growth patterns essential for monitoring auxological development in 3 to 11-year-old children in the years 2000 and onwards.     

Associations between household income,height, and BMI in contemporary US schoolchildren

This paper evaluates the association between income and physical development in a nationally representative sample of contemporary US schoolchildren followed from kindergarten to eighth grade (average ages of 6–14). A generalized linear mixed modeling framework is used to evaluate height and body mass index (BMI) as both levels and annualized growth in a pooled sample. Contemporary US schoolchildren show income variation in height that is significant but modest at around .1 cm (in kindergarten) to .4 cm (eighth grade) increases per doubling of income. An exception is found for Hispanic children who show faster height velocity associated with higher income through childhood yielding a 1.0 cm increase per doubling of income by the eighth grade. All groups except black males show a negative relationship between income and BMI that becomes stronger with age with an average .8 kg/m² lower BMI per doubling of income by the eighth grade. These results are robust to the inclusion of baseline anthropometric controls. The analysis suggests that higher-income US schoolchildren enter mid-adolescence as taller but with lower proportional body mass relative to their lower-income counterparts.     

基诺族体质特征及35年来体质的变化

对云南西双版纳傣族自治州景洪县基诺山基诺乡的基诺族进行体质调查,测量了600例（男279人,女321人）成人人体测量学指标,与35年前在同一地区测量的基诺族体质数据进行了比较,初步分析了35年来基诺族体质变化的原因,研究表明,基诺族身材较矮,颧部不突出,上眼睑多有皱褶,接近40%成年人具有蒙古褶,眼裂高度多为中等,眼外角 多高于眼内角,鼻根高度多为中等,多为直鼻背,多直发。基诺族男性、女性均为圆头型、高头型、中头型、阔面型、中鼻型,中躯干型、中腿型、宽胸型、宽肩型、中骨盆型。这些表明基诺族具有南亚类型体质特征。35年来,基诺族男女的头长、头宽、面宽、下颌角宽、容貌面高、身高、坐高、胸围、肩宽、体重等指标值较1980年指标有所增长。基诺族体质的变化与当地生产力的发展,饮食结构的改善、体力劳动的强度变化都有一定的关系。     

The Patterning Cascade Model and Carabelli's trait expression in metameres of the mixed human dentition: exploring a morphogenetic model

Since ancient times the Mediterranean island of Sardinia has been known for harboring a population with an average body height shorter than almost every other ethnic group in Europe. After over a century of investigations, the cause(s) at the origin of this uniqueness are not yet clear. The shorter stature of Sardinians appears to have been documented since prehistoric times, as revealed by the analysis of skeletal remains discovered in archaeological sites on the island. Recently, a number of genetic, hormonal, environmental, infective and nutritional factors have been put forward to explain this unique anthropometric feature, which persisted for a long time, even when environmental and living conditions improved around 1960. Although some of the putative factors are supported by sound empirical evidence, weaker support is available for others. The recent advent of whole genome analysis techniques shed new light on specific variants at the origin of this short stature. However, the marked geographical variability of stature across time and space within the island, and the well‐known presence of pockets of short height in the population of the southern districts, are still puzzling findings that have attracted the interest of anthropologists and geneticists. The purpose of this review is to focus on the state‐of‐the‐art research on stature, as well as the factors that made Sardinians the shortest among Europeans.     

蒙古族学生体质发育指数分析

本文以1985年测得的7—18岁蒙族男女学生4747名6项指标(身高、坐高、体重、胸围、肩宽和骨盆宽)的资料,计算出12项指数(坐高指数、体重指数、胸围指数、肩宽指数、骨盆宽指数、Vervaeck指数、骨盆宽/肩宽指数、Erismann指数、Broca指数、Pelidisi指数、Rohrer指数和Livi指数),分析了12项指数的年龄变化和性别差异,并对城乡、蒙族与全国汉族、1985年和1962年的数据进行了比较。     

Sexual dimorphism in body composition changes during the pubertal period : As shown by French-Canadian children

Size and velocity growth curves of stature to represent skeletal growth, lean arm circumference to represent muscle growth, and the sum of three skinfolds to represent fat tissue changes, are presented for a longitudinal study of Montreal school–age children. Both a chronological age scale, and one relative to the individual ages of peak growth velocity in stature, are used. Intercorrelations between the various components are tabulated for age groups based on the two scales. The three skinfolds are also analyzed separately. The results show that such simple anthropometric measures can be usefully taken to represent the growth of different body components. Longitudinal analysis reveals that, whereas the relationship of muscular to statural growth in boys is purely maturational, it is not so for girls, and that the different skinfolds show complex sexual differences in growth during the pubertal period.     

Does bone mineralization reflect economic conditions? An examination using a national US sample

BACKGROUND: Bone density is the most important determinant of osteoporotic fractures, which lead to significant morbidity, disability and mortality for older persons, particularly women. Sensitive periods for bone mineralization in infancy, childhood and adolescence overlap with those for height attainment. After peak density is reached in early adulthood, there is age-related decline. We ask whether bone density, as height, reflects economic conditions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Using the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a probability sample of the US population which over-sampled Blacks and Mexican Americans, we examine the associations between adult bone mineral content (BMC) adjusted for bone and body size and three economic indicators: education, height and the poverty income ratio (PIR). We compare four groups: US-born Whites, Blacks and Mexican Americans and Mexican-born Mexican Americans. RESULTS: Education is positively associated with BMC only for White women, although there are similar, non-significant associations for Black women and White and Black men. For women, BMC is more strongly associated with height for Mexican Americans, especially the Mexican-born, than for Whites. For men, the only significant association is a negative one with education for men born in Mexico. PIR is not significantly associated with BMC, although there is pattern of lower income being associated with lower BMC for Whites and Blacks and higher BMC for Mexican Americans. CONCLUSION: Bone density does not reflect economic conditions as strongly or consistently as does physical stature. However, for women there is evidence that lower economic status in childhood or adolescence is associated with lower bone density.     

Stature in an early mid-19th century poorhouse population: Highland Park, Rochester, New York

If the early 19th century United States was a developing country, then it may be expected that the lowest economic stratum would show some biological consequences of poverty. This report examines that question by estimating stature on 90 male and 64 female adult skeletons from an unmarked cemetery dating between 1826 and 1863. The Highland Park burial ground was adjacent to institutions which interned unfortunates of Rochester, Monroe County, in western New York. The best estimate of male stature (N = 84) is 172.6 cm. A review of other 18th and 19th century height data shows this value not to be relatively stunted, but rather exactly on the predicted mean of its time. If this was a poor population, stunting was not a consequence of poverty. Females (N = 59) showed a best height estimate of 160.0 cm. Less comparative data are available, but this too seems average for the time. A brief discussion of secular trends, changing income inequity and fluctuating stature from the 18th through 20th centuries puts this finding in context.     

Pattern of adolescent growth among the Brahmin girls--rural-urban variation

A cross-sectional study of adolescent growth was undertaken among the Brahmin girls residing in rural and urban areas of Sagar districts, Madhya Pradesh to evaluate the urban-rural differences. Six anthropometric measurements, such as weight, stature, sitting height, head circumference, upper arm circumference and chest girth are taken into consideration. Though the urban girls show consistently higher values of weight, stature, sitting height and chest girth than the rural girls, but in case of head circumference and upper arm circumference they show consistently lower values. The maximum increment occurs between the ages 13 and 14 years in all the six measurements in both rural and urban girls.     

Physical growth of St. Lawrence Island Eskimos: Body size,proportion, and composition

Growth patterns of body size, proportion, and composition were analyzed in 57 male and 56 female Eskimos from St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea, ranging in age from 1.23 through 19.82 years. Age-groups means for whites and blacks of the U.S. Health Examination Survey served as reference data. Relative to HES data, the Eskimo sample were shorter with lower values for leg length, while there were no differences from the reference values for sitting height. The Eskimos also had higher values of Quetelet's Index, the sitting height/height ratio, and the upper arm muscle circumference, while there were no differences in body weight or triceps skinfold thickness. Differences from the reference data were more pronounced in males than in females. The growth patterns for size and body proportion are in conformity with known relationships between morphology and climate.     

Early anthropometric indices predict short stature and overweight status in a cohort of Peruvians in early adolescence

While childhood malnutrition is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, less well understood is how early childhood growth influences height and body composition later in life. We revisited 152 Peruvian children who participated in a birth cohort study between 1995 and 1998, and obtained anthropometric and bioimpedance measurements 11-14 years later. We used multivariable regression models to study the effects of childhood anthropometric indices on height and body composition in early adolescence. Each standard deviation decrease in length-for-age at birth was associated with a decrease in adolescent height-for-age of 0.7 SD in both boys and girls (all P < 0.001) and 9.7 greater odds of stunting (95% CI 3.3-28.6). Each SD decrease in length-for-age in the first 30 months of life was associated with a decrease in adolescent height-for-age of 0.4 in boys and 0.6 standard deviation in girls (all P < 0.001) and with 5.8 greater odds of stunting (95% CI 2.6-13.5). The effect of weight gain during early childhood on weight in early adolescence was more complex to understand. Weight-for-length at birth and rate of change in weight-for-length in early childhood were positively associated with age- and sex-adjusted body mass index and a greater risk of being overweight in early adolescence. Linear growth retardation in early childhood is a strong determinant of adolescent stature, indicating that, in developing countries, growth failure in height during early childhood persists through early adolescence. Interventions addressing linear growth retardation in childhood are likely to improve adolescent stature and related-health outcomes in adulthood.     

Growth and nutritional status of Khasi boys in Northeast India relating to exogamous marriages and socioeconomic classes

The Khasis are one of the matrilineal tribes of Meghalaya in Northeast India. They belong to the Indo-Mongoloid racial stock, and speak the Monkhmer language of the Austro-Asiatic group. They have their own traditional religion (Niam Khasi), but about 65% of them have converted to Christianity. A few Khasi members have also embraced Islam through matrimonial relationship with immigrant Muslim males. The present study was based on a cross-sectional sample of 1,351 urban Khasi boys aged 3-18 years belonging to these three religious groups, with a view to understanding the effects of socioeconomic factors on growth and nutritional status, using anthropometric variables such as weight and height. The findings showed that about 60%, 29%, and 6% of these boys were below -2 Z-scores of the US National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) references in respect of weight for age, height for age, and body mass index for age, respectively. The logistic regression coefficient (beta +/- standard error) indicated that the prevalence of low weight for age (below -2 Z-scores of the NCHS references) was positively associated with age (0.088 +/- 0.014, P<0.0001), while it was inversely associated with household income (-1.216 +/- 0.030, P<0.0001). Likewise, low height for age Z-score was negatively associated with household income (-1.056 +/- 0.130, P<0.0001), although such a relationship was not significant in the case of low body mass index for age (-0.169 +/- 0.229, P>0.05). There were also significant differences between religious groups in respect of anthropometric variables. Allowing for household income, the ANCOVA test indicated that Muslim Khasi boys, who were the offspring of intermarriages between Khasi females and immigrant Muslim males, were significantly heavier and taller than Christian and Niam Khasi boys almost across ages. From about 3-10 years of age, Muslim Khasi boys were, on average, comparable to the 5th and 25th percentiles of the NCHS references of height and weight, respectively. Although it looks as though genetic mechanisms like heterosis and/or gene flow might also be associated with the larger body size in Muslim boys, such a conjecture could only be substantiated or refuted by further studies concerning genetic and more socioeconomic data on both immigrant and nonimmigrant populations.     

Does height modify the risk of angina associated with economic adversity?

Adult height partly reflects childhood exposures, and we hypothesise that some exposures impairing growth may also increase susceptibility to coronary heart disease--angina pectoris (angina)--risks, such that shorter adults may be more susceptible to some exposures in adulthood that are risks for heart disease. This hypothesis is tested among all adults who participated in the National Health Interview Survey (USA), 1997-2000 [The National Health Survey, 1997-2000. Data file documentation, National Health Interview Survey (machine-readable data file and documentation). National Center for Health Statistics, Hyattsville, Maryland, ]. In the entire study population, height was negatively associated with angina and after adjustment for potential confounding factors; the odds ratio (and 95% confidence interval) for angina risk associated with the tallest height fifth compared with the shortest fifth is 0.77 (0.97, 0.88). The association of low income (less than US 20,000 dollars) with angina was assessed separately in each of five height strata defined by fifths of the height distribution. The magnitude of this association is lower in the shortest than the tallest height fifth, with odds ratios of 1.18 and 1.60, respectively (effect modification). The unexpected results may be explained by the following: childhood adversity resulting in shorter stature may confer resilience against adult economic adversity; the relative disadvantage of low income may be perceived more keenly by those of taller stature thereby increasing stress and thus disease risk; or health-promoting characteristics associated with taller stature may be less effective in the face of adult economic adversity in the low-income group.     

Cross-sectional growth of pastoralist Karimojong and Turkana children

In this study, we compare cross-sectional growth in two Nilotic pastoralist populations, the Turkana and Karimojong of northern East Africa. Until the middle of the 18th century, these two groups constituted one population, and their genetic affinities consequently are assumed to be strong. Known differences in their subsistence practices as well as their recent cultural history allow us to consider the genetic vs. environmental determinants of their growth patterns. Growth in stature of the two groups is remarkably similar, whereas the pattern of ponderal growth varies, particularly in infancy and adolescence. Both groups demonstrate the linear adult physique that is characteristic of savanna-dwelling peoples in East Africa, but the Karimojong are heavier and fatter after early childhood. Linearity of physique is related to narrow skeletal breadth, a trait that emerges early in childhood among the Karimojong and is strongly correlated with weight: this finding supports the climatic hypothesis of human body shape and size. Extreme leanness, determined from body mass index, is correlated with fat stores, which are only weakly correlated with weight, height, or skeletal breadth. Linearity of physique appears to have a substantial genetic component, whereas fatness is hypothesized to relate to differences in subsistence strategies and exposure to environmental and cultural stress.     

Body height,weight, and skeletal maturation in Hottentot (Khoikhoi) children

Growth of body height and weight and skeletal maturation are discussed, based on 49 male and 61 female Hottentot children aged 3 to 17 years from Warmbad, Namibia (South West Africa) and 124 boys and 113 girls aged 1 to 21 years of related populations, the Rehoboth Basters of Namibia and Cape Coloreds from Cape Town, South Africa. The related populations are taller and heavier than the Hottentots, and have almost the same body height as American blacks and whites at least after the age of 18 years. In the Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters, the mean TW2 skeletal age is always less than the British standard by one or two years in both sexes. In general, the Rehoboth Basters have a skeletal age that is intermediate between Hottentot and British children. In both Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters, the increase in body height shows a linear relation to the skeletal age, and the regression curves are almost parallel in both sexes. The differences in body height and weight between the Hottentots and Rehoboth Basters become greater after the skeletal ages of 15 years for boys and 13 years for girls.     

Inequality in the American South: evidence from the nineteenth century missouri state prison

The use of height data to measure living standards is now a well-established method in economic history. Moreover, a number of core findings in the literature are widely agreed upon. There are still some populations, places and times, however, for which anthropometric evidence remains thin. One example is 19th century African-Americans in US border-states. This paper introduces a new data set from the Missouri state prison to track the heights of comparable black and white men born between 1820 and 1904. Modern blacks and whites come to comparable terminal statures when brought to maturity under optimal conditions; however, whites were persistently taller than blacks in the Missouri prison sample by two centimetres. Throughout the 19th century, black and white adult statures remained approximately constant, while black youth stature increased during the antebellum period.