Body Height and Socioeconomic Status of Females at Different Life Stages

Abstract

Adult height reflects long-term nutritional status and exposure to infectious diseases, both of which are influenced by socioeconomic factors. Very little research has been done on these inequalities from a longitudinal perspective. This paper explores the links between body height at different life stages and socioeconomic characteristics. Data were obtained from 1008 Polish schoolgirls aged 16-18 years for whom earlier data on height were available. The height of each subject was measured. Socioeconomic status and age at menarche were assessed based on information received from the surveyed girls. Girls' heights in early life were ascertained from medical records. All girls were measured by trained school nurses at 7, 9 and 14 years of age. Socioeconomic status was found to be related to body height, but not to the rate of height gain during childhood and adolescence. Girls of a higher socioeconomic status were taller than girls of a lower socioeconomic status. On dividing the research material into homogeneous groups by maturity status, the same relationship was observed. No significant relationships were found between socioeconomic status and rate of height gain between ages 7 and 16, 17, 18 years. The findings suggest that socioeconomic variation in height is the result of living conditions during the first years of life.

Stature in adults as an indicator of socioeconomic inequalities in Mexico

“…The Wronka study (32) concluded that socioeconomic status was related to body height, and that variation in height was the result of the living conditions during the first years of life. In contrast, Singh et al (23) found a weak association between income and stature, but the association could be modified by the effect of education.…”

Gender inequality and sexual height dimorphism in Chile

“…Although it varies among countries, the beginning of puberty and thus of the final growth spurt can be recognized as being initiated by menarche in girls and secondary sexual characteristics in boys and lasting for nearly 2 years (Cole, 2000(Cole, , 2003Wells, 2012;Ezzati & NCD-RisC, 2016). Chile has experienced a reduction in the age of puberty appearance, mainly due to improvements in living conditions, as it has been reported that well-nourished children from families with good socioeconomic conditions experience the growth spurt earlier than malnourished children from families with poor living conditions (Wronka, 2015). Most Chilean girls experience menarche at 13 years old and boys experience the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics at 15 years old (Valenzuela & Avendaño, 1979;Ivanovic & Ivanovic, 1988;Burrows et al, 2010).…”

Fertility Intentions and Early Life Health Stress Among Women in Eight Indian Cities: Testing the Reproductive Acceleration Hypothesis

“…The only information available in NFHS data that could indicate childhood nutritional stress is height (in centimetres, measured by trained survey personnel), which is used here as an index of childhood health status. Adult height is known to be to a large extent determined by gestational and early childhood conditions (Case & Paxson, 2010;Wronka, 2013), particularly in developing countries where the influence of genetic factors for completed height is less important than in more affluent environments (Silventoinen, 2003). A number of studies have come to the conclusion that nutrition and infections primarily influence adult size by influencing growth attainment during fetal life and early infancy when nutritional resources are derived primarily from the mother's body, thus linking adult size in the present generation with matrilineal nutritional history (Kuzawa, 2005(Kuzawa, , 2007Wells, 2007;Kuzawa & Quinn, 2009).…”