Research Between 1950 and 1980 on Urban-Rural Differences in Body Size and Growth Rate of Children and Youths

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter explores separate treatments for late childhood, early adolescent, and late adolescent segments of human ontogeny. Drawing upon somatic data collected between 1950 and 1980, knowledge is systematized for urban-rural differences in standing height, body weight, and dimensions of the head, trunk, and limbs. The objectives are to bring together a substantial array of statistics pertaining to urban-rural differences in human body size presently scattered in biological journals, scholarly monographs, anthropometric-survey reports, and unpublished manuscripts. The chapter determines the direction and magnitude of urban-rural differences in body size for a wide assortment of human groups during late childhood, early adolescence, and late adolescence. It is explored whether urban-rural differences in body size increase or decrease with age in the period between 7 and 17 years. It is also revealed whether urban-rural differences in body size increase or decrease from decade to decade. The rates of growth in standing height and body weight during selected age intervals are investigated.