Secular Trend for Recumbent Length and Stature in the Fels Longitudinal Growth Study

Abstract

A voluminous literature documents the secular trend in stature in the United States over the last century (see Meredith, 1963 and 1976 for a review). Many studies compare adult stature in representative groups a generation apart (Bakwin and McLaughlin, 1964; Damon, 1974). A smaller number of studies report changes in stature attained at a given point in the growing period. While most report increases in stature at whatever age is compared, the means by which the increased adult stature is attained remains uncertain. Some have found that length at birth is increasing, while others attribute the phenomenon to an earlier and larger adolescent growth spurt. In addition, there is some speculation in more recent studies that the secular increase in adult stature is at or near an end (Damon, 1974).