Secular trends in height in Madrid (cohorts 1915–1953). An approach to urban stratification and SEPE factors differences in Spain during the twentieth century1

Abstract

This chapter analyses the secular change in height of 65,313 conscripts from the city of Madrid who were born between 1915 and 1953 and who were called up aged 21 between 1936 and 1974. This period was marked by the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), deprivation during the 1940s, and profound socio-economic changes in subsequent decades that drove the industrialisation and modernisation of Spain. The results confirm the differential impact on growth among members of the same cohorts but of different social classes, according to urban area of residence. The increase in height of conscripts living in middle- and upper-class districts was sustained and intense at least since the mid-1920s, even for those born and who grew up during the Civil War and Franco’s autarchy (1940s). On the other hand, secular change in height for conscripts in lower-class districts was irregular, with periods of decrease or downturn (cohorts born in the mid-1920s and mid-1940s) regarding previous periods of increase. These differences corresponded to spatial segregation and social stratification which were characteristic in Madrid during the period under study and, ultimately, express marked differences in Social-Economic-Political-Emotional (SEPE) conditions, deepening during critical periods of the history of the country. Disparities in height remained significant in Madrid until the year 1969.