Worldwide Variation in Human Growth

The health of a population is most accurately reflected in the rate of growth of its children.

Phyllis B. Eveleth (Author), James M. Tanner (Author)

9780521359160, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 17 January 1991

412 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm, 0.634 kg

"...far more than a compilation of data, tables and an extensive bibliography. The implications of this data have carefully been considered and discussed, including the influence of stature, obesity and fat-patterning on chronic disease in adults. It is fascinating reading, practical and applicable to the developing and developed worlds. It should serve as an essential text and guide to those working in the fields of maternal and child health, infant and pre-school nutrition, and the health of the adolescent. It is of particular interest for those who plan to conduct different kinds of growth studies and surveys, as well as those who are interested in the public health implication of measuring growth and maturation in population groups." Ella Haddad, Journal of Nutrition Education

The health of a population is most accurately reflected in the rate of growth of its children. It is this theme which underlies the analysis and presentation of what is by far the largest compilation of growth data ever assembled. The first edition, published in 1976, included all known reliable recent results on height, weight, skinfolds and other body measurements from all parts of the globe. In this edition, the very numerous measurements taken between 1976 and 1988 have been included as well as the results of the large number of new studies made on rate of maturation as evinced by bone age and pubertal development stages. Many sections of the book dwell on disentangling the effects of the environment and heredity on growth, and thus answer the question of whether one universal standard suffices for all peoples of the world, or whether different populations (such as races or nations) should each have their own optimal growth standards. Written by practical people with experience of the problems in developing countries, this book explains in simple terms the different sorts of growth surveys, how to set about making them, and which sort to choose. All who are professionally concerned with child health should read it.

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction to comparative growth studies: methods and standards
2. Europeans in Europe
3. European descendants in Australasia, Africa and the Americas
4. Africans in Africa and of African ancestry
5. Asiatics in Asia and the Americas 6. Indo-Mediterraneans in the Near East, North Africa and India
7. Australian Aborigines and Pacific Island peoples
8. Rate of maturation: population differences in skeletal, dental and pubertal development
9. Genetic influence on growth: family and race comparisons
10. Environmental influence ongrowth
11. Child growth and chronic disease in adults
References
Appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: Human biology [PSX], Human growth & development [MFKH]