Growth of Philippine Children in Reference to Socioeconomic Environment.

Abstract

Stature, body weight, and the body mass index (BMI) in cross-sectional sample of Philippine children aged 7-17 were studied in a rural region, Isabela Province (531 boys and 571 girls), and in an urban region, Metro Manila (984 girls and 1003 boys). Each region consisted of a poorly-off group and a well-off group. Children of well-off families were taller and heavier than those of poorly-off families in both rural and urban regions, and growth of the rural well-off group coincided with that of the urban poorly-off group. Compared with average Japanese children, Quezon City (QC) children (the well-off group in Manila) were taller and heavier up to ages 7-9 in both sexes, whereas at ages 12-14, average Japanese children exceeded QC children. This Japan-QC difference seems to be widened through the post-pubertal period. Sensitivity to environmental stress in boys is suggested not only for stature but also in the BMI. The post-pubertal boys' predominance of stature seems to be related to a shorter duration of the adolescent girls' predominance. The age at maximum age-class difference occurs earlier with the greater difference being one of a taller and heavier body constitution in the well-off QC group. The time lag for these ages between QC and Makati, the poorly-off group, was shorter in the boys than in the girls, and about 3 years earlier in the girls than in the boys in Makati, and only about 1 year earlier in QC.