Secular changes in body height and weight of Portuguese boys over one century

Abstract

This study examines secular changes in attained height and weight in student boys from a military boarding school (Colégio Militar) in Lisbon, Portugal. Data for

Short-term secular change in height, body mass and Tanner-Whitehouse 3 skeletal maturity of Madeira youth, Portugal

“…Heights of 18-year-old males have increased between 1904 and 2000, and age at menarche has declined (Padez 2007). The trend is consistent with earlier analyses (Padez and Johnston 1999;Padez 2002Padez , 2003Cardoso 2008). By inference, living conditions and associated health benefits have improved in Portugal over the past few decades.…”

Altered growth patterns of a mountain Ok population of Papua New Guinea over 25 years of change

“…The increases in height in these peripubertal age groups over the 25 years (5-9 cm for males and 6 cm for females) were statistically significant. The increases were modest when compared to some studies of adolescents in other parts of the world that report height increases in the range of 5-10 cm per decade (Cardoso, 2008;Kurokawa et al, 2008). The magnitude of the estimated pubertal growth spurt in Telefolmin males and females is modest compared to the 8-9 cm per year growth velocity typically seen during puberty in US children (Abbassi, 1998).…”

Secular trends in body height and body mass in 19‐year‐old polish men based on six national surveys from 1965 to 2010

“…In Belgium, the rate of increase was also slower than in Poland, and amounted to 1.6 cm per decade for stature over the period from 1920 and 1980 (Hauspie et al, 1996). A study on boys in Portugal from 1899 to 2006 also revealed an average rate of increase of 1.54 cm per decade for stature and 1.54 kg per decade for body weight (Cardoso, 2008).…”

“…Intergenerational changes in body weight have been discussed since the 1960s (Cole, 2003), and increases in body weight and body mass index (BMI) in adults, adolescents, and children have been observed in many countries of the world (Cardoso, 2008;Krawczynski et al, 2003;Motton et al 2007). These secular trends include increases in corporal dimensions, especially stature, but also reflect changes in body shape caused by an increase in the accumulation of adipose tissue.…”