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Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936
This article analyzes the evolution of inequality in mean male height in central Spain considering the generations born from 1837 to 1915, measured in the drafts from 1858 to 1936 (n = 53,503). Mean adult height reflects a crude indicator of net nutritional status, a proxy for currently known measur...
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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MDPI
2022
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Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949531/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35329086 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063397 |
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author | Garcia-Montero, Hector |
author_facet | Garcia-Montero, Hector |
author_sort | Garcia-Montero, Hector |
collection | PubMed |
description | This article analyzes the evolution of inequality in mean male height in central Spain considering the generations born from 1837 to 1915, measured in the drafts from 1858 to 1936 (n = 53,503). Mean adult height reflects a crude indicator of net nutritional status, a proxy for currently known measures of stunting and wasting. The results reveal a cycle of stagnation and decline in average height at the age of 21 for those born from the 1850s to the 1870s and a subsequent positive secular trend to exceed baseline levels. The coefficient of variation shows how inequality in height followed an opposite pattern, with an increase in the mid-nineteenth century and a subsequent decline, with an overall decline. The great migratory wave towards Latin America (1880–1930) barely affected the area studied here. The available evidence on the occupations and educational level of the recruits reveals a ranking in average height related to family background and personal income, educational level and literacy, propinquity to food and ownership and/or management of land. Therefore, socioeconomic status largely predicted adult height in Spanish men during the period. Reducing absolute poverty and increasing access to education remain cornerstones to reducing malnutrition, even in the current world. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8949531 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2022 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-89495312022-03-26 Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936 Garcia-Montero, Hector Int J Environ Res Public Health Article This article analyzes the evolution of inequality in mean male height in central Spain considering the generations born from 1837 to 1915, measured in the drafts from 1858 to 1936 (n = 53,503). Mean adult height reflects a crude indicator of net nutritional status, a proxy for currently known measures of stunting and wasting. The results reveal a cycle of stagnation and decline in average height at the age of 21 for those born from the 1850s to the 1870s and a subsequent positive secular trend to exceed baseline levels. The coefficient of variation shows how inequality in height followed an opposite pattern, with an increase in the mid-nineteenth century and a subsequent decline, with an overall decline. The great migratory wave towards Latin America (1880–1930) barely affected the area studied here. The available evidence on the occupations and educational level of the recruits reveals a ranking in average height related to family background and personal income, educational level and literacy, propinquity to food and ownership and/or management of land. Therefore, socioeconomic status largely predicted adult height in Spanish men during the period. Reducing absolute poverty and increasing access to education remain cornerstones to reducing malnutrition, even in the current world. MDPI 2022-03-14 /pmc/articles/PMC8949531/ /pubmed/35329086 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063397 Text en © 2022 by the author. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Garcia-Montero, Hector Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936 |
title | Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936 |
title_full | Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936 |
title_fullStr | Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936 |
title_full_unstemmed | Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936 |
title_short | Height, Nutritional and Economic Inequality in Central Spain, 1837–1936 |
title_sort | height, nutritional and economic inequality in central spain, 1837–1936 |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8949531/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35329086 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063397 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT garciamonterohector heightnutritionalandeconomicinequalityincentralspain18371936 |