Received wisdom versus reality: height, nutrition, and urbanization in mid-nineteenth-century France

Heyberger, Laurent

doi:10.1007/s11698-013-0095-1

Cited by 16 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…In France, gross domestic product (GDP) per head increased steadily between 1800 and 1910 but then declined during the world wars. The urban population only surpassed the rural in the 1930s (Heyberger 2014) and, as late as 1870, 50.6 percent of the male labor force remained in agriculture (Crafts 1985: 57). According to Heyberger (2014), the population of France before 1850 derived most of its protein from grains: Only after that date did the consumption of meat and milk increase.…”

Section: Selection Of the Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The urban population only surpassed the rural in the 1930s (Heyberger 2014) and, as late as 1870, 50.6 percent of the male labor force remained in agriculture (Crafts 1985: 57). According to Heyberger (2014), the population of France before 1850 derived most of its protein from grains: Only after that date did the consumption of meat and milk increase. The country's leading crops are wheat, sugar beet, corn, barley, potatoes, fruit, and grapes for wine.…”

Section: Selection Of the Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate Effects and Stature since 1800

Galofré-Vilà¹,

Guntupalli²,

Harris³

et al. 2018

Soc. sci. hist.

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During the last 30 years, economic and social historians have collected and analyzed large amounts of anthropometric data to explore key aspects of the human past. Attention has also been devoted to the examination of factors that can exert an influence on stature. This article outlines the different ways in which climate might influence stature, either directly or indirectly. It then uses geographical information system software to explore the relationship between variations in temperature and precipitation and the average heights of men in France, India, Mexico, Spain, and the United States over the last two centuries. It is possible to observe an influence of climate on stature in some countries, especially during the nineteenth century, but the relationship weakens across time and largely disappears in recent decades. The attenuation of this relationship is attributed to a process of “technophysio evolution” as countries modernized and developed economically.

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Section: Selection Of the Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Selection Of the Countriesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Effects and Stature since 1800

Galofré-Vilà¹,

Guntupalli²,

Harris³

et al. 2018

Soc. sci. hist.

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“…Income affects height since it determines the consumption of food and health services, child labor and the disease environment in which an individual grew up (María-Dolores and Martínez-Carrión, 2011). In addition, nutritional and environmental conditions that determine adult height are also related to different economic variables such 3 There is a large number or papers that recognize and use physical stature as an indicator of human welfare, see for example Galofré-Vilà (2018), Beltran (2015), Floud et al (2014), Heyberger (2014), Floud et al (2011), María-Dolores and Martinez-Carrión (2011), Komlos (2003Komlos ( , 2009, Bassino (2006), Komlos and Baten (2004), Floud (1994Floud ( , 2004, Fogel (1994), and Steckel (1995aSteckel ( ,b, 2008aSteckel ( , 2008bSteckel ( and 2009, among others. 4 For the case of Great Britain see the paper of Floud et al (1990); for the Dutch case see Huang et al (2015); for Switzerland see Schoch et al (2012); see Gyenis, and Joubert (2004) for Hungary; Ayuda and Puche-Gil (2014), Martínez-Carrión and Camara (2015), Martínez-Carrión and María-Dolores (2017) for Spain; Cuff (2005) and Komlos and Baur (2004) for the United States; Bassino (2006) for Japan, Bassino et al (2018) for Philippines; Guntupalli and Baten (2006) for India; Cameron (2003) for South Africa.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long run relationship between biological well being, and economic development in Colombia

Meisel-Roca¹,

Ramírez-Giraldo²,

Santos-Cárdenas³

2019

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This paper explores the long run relationship between the physical stature of Colombians born during the twentieth century and several socioeconomic development indicators using time series techniques. The econometric analysis is carried out considering three height measures: female's height, male's height, and the gender height dimorphism. The database comprises height information from the national identification cards for nearly 13 million persons born between 1910 and 1989: 6.283.452 men and 6.383.023 women. Results suggest the existence of a long-run relationship between all height measures and the economic variables included in the analysis. In general, the results indicate that improvements in the availability of better-quality food, and the reduction in food prices, measured by the degree of openness and by infrastructure developments, as well as improvements in the economic conditions lead to increases in average height. Regarding gender height inequality, the results show that height dimorphism in absolute terms decreased during the twentieth century. However, the downward trend observed until the end of 1950s reversed at the beginning of the 1960s, despite the advances in the living conditions of women during this period. This result suggests that earlier improvements in the economic conditions benefited women more than men, given the considerable gender gap in education, health, and income at the beginning of the twentieth century. On the contrary, GDP growth during the second half of the twentieth had higher returns for men relative to women.

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“…The analysis of the long-term evolution of human stature has been widely used in economic history literature in order to measure changes in biological welfare in different countries (e.g. Komlos and Baten, 2003;Steckel, 2008;Komlos, 2003;Bassino, 2015, Heyberger, 2014Beltran and Tapias, 2015;María Dolores and Martinez-Carrion, 2011;Vega, 2007 andPeracchi, 2008). As María Dolores and Martinez-Carrion (2011) point out, anthropometric history has improved our knowledge about living standards and biological welfare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Socioeconomic Determinants and Spatial Convergence of Biological Well-being: The Case of Physical Stature in Colombia, 1920-1990

Meisel-Roca¹,

Ramírez-Giraldo²,

Santos-Cárdenas³

2018

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This paper explores the relationship between the physical stature of Colombians born during the 20 th century and several socioeconomic variables. Using a dataset of more than 225,000 individuals built from judicial background certificates, we find an important increase in the stature of the population: the average height of women increased 4.1 centimeters and that of men increased 5.7 centimeters. Econometric results suggest important differences in the individual's stature according to gender, level of education, occupation, and place and date of birth. Similarly, the disease environment and access to public services significantly affect people's height. We find that departmental average height disparities decreased and the gap across regions closed throughout the century.

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Received wisdom versus reality: height, nutrition, and urbanization in mid-nineteenth-century France

Cited by 16 publications

References 46 publications

Climate Effects and Stature since 1800

Climate Effects and Stature since 1800

Long run relationship between biological well being, and economic development in Colombia

Socioeconomic Determinants and Spatial Convergence of Biological Well-being: The Case of Physical Stature in Colombia, 1920-1990

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