Anthropometrics of Mexican schoolchildren Paul R Earl Facultad de Ciencias Biol

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Anthropometrics of Mexican schoolchildren Paul
R Earl Facultad de Ciencias BiológicasUniversid
ad Autónoma de Nuevo LeónSan Nicolás, NL 66450,
Mexico
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BackgroundSomatometrics or anthropometrics are
body measurements, Height (H), Weight (W) and
Body Mass Indexes (BMI) of student populations
6-16 years in Sabinas, Nuevo León, Progreso,
Yucatán and for contrast Poznan, Poland are
presented. Respective average Hs at 16 years were
170, 159 and 176 cm for boys and 159, 149 and 165
cm for girls. H for classic Mayan Indians is 161,
148 cm.
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H is a measure of wellbeing. A growth lag for
Progreso boys is found from 8-10 years, while the
Progreso girls grow normaly from 7-13 years.
Growth stops right after menarche. Female growth
has a lawlike relations. Progreso girls of 6-16
years are shorter and relatively heavier than
European and North American girls. Growth is
steady in Progreso girls, while the boys are
retarded. Shortness as usual can be due to
malnutrition in the early years leading to
stunting. Progreso boys and girls have high BMIs
like 22, because of short legs likely relating to
malnutrition.
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Mexico can be divided into 1/ North,
2/ South, 3/ Center and 4/ Ciudad de
Mexico. Essentially, most Mexicans are mestizos
meaning that most have mixed Spanish and Indian
blood. Poverty is found most in the Veracruzan
coast, Yucatán, the center, Guerrero, Oaxaca and
Chiapas. Indigenous Indians suffer longstanding
unemployment, soil erosion and failure to develop
industrial skills. Impoverished, high-fertility
uneducated Mayan farmers permeate much of Central
America. The obvious inequality is in the income
differences between the industrialized north and
the rural south with a consequent political
division between the right and the left.
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Mexicans are shorter and relatively heavier than
Americans. Stunting via early-age malnutrition
produces short people.Most studies do not
include sitting height. It turns out that it is
frankly necessary since H minus sitting height
gives leg length (LL). LL is related to
wellbeing. Poor environmental conditions in early
life are associated with shortness. In all
Mexican clinics, sitting height should be
iniciated if data is to be generated to solve
such problems.Northeastern Sabinas, Nuevo León
has about 31,000 inhabitants in 2006. Progreso is
a port city in the north of Yucatán on the Gulf
of Mexico about 36 km from the state capital of
Mérida. Sabinas of course like Progreso should be
restudied with close attention to mortality.
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Comparisons of the 3 populationsTable 1.
The anthropometric averages from Sabinas at 6-16
years. HB height for boys, WB weight for girls,
BMIB body mass index for boys and BMIG for girls.
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Table 2. Progreso boys and girls. Abbreviations
as in Table 1
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Table 3. H, W and BMI of Poznan boys and girls,
6-16 years
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Fig. 1. H in m for Sabinas, Progreso and Poznan
schoolchildren.
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Fig. 2. W for Sabinas, Progreso and Poznan
schoolchildren.
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Fig. 3. BMI for Sabinas, Progreso and Poznan
schoolchildren.
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What information can we gainThe growth of
Mexican girls and boys calls for strong national
reinvestigation, emphasizing stunting. Female
growth slows to a stop just after menarche.
Poznan, Sabinas and Progreso girls have menarche
at 13-14 years. Clearly, when growth stops,
menstruation has begun.Sitting height, the
cephalic index, abdominal and hip circumferences,
heart rate, oxygen saturation and arterial
pressures can be added with strong emphasis on
sitting height. Spirometric testing using a
Wright peak flow spirometer is urged. For
instance, the heavy air pollution from automobile
traffic in Mexico City is a risk factor.
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Longevity is much better in northern than
southern Mexico. The physiques and life styles of
Sabinas and Progreso children are markedly
different. How H correlates to life expectancy
and to speculative factors like income or food
supply remains for future investigations. A very
considerable handful of unknowns is confronted
here at one same time.The main feature are shown
in Figures 1-3. Progreso girls are stockier and
shorter than Sabinas girls. Progreso boys are
shorter and relatively heavier than Sabinas boys,
yet not markedly differing in their BMIs. The
precocity of girls is reflected by reaching 22
BMI early as in Figure 3. Something about the
Progreso diet causes early fattening, or else
final H is reached earlier. Not having the
menarche age opens the door to speculation.
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The applicibility of anthropology to healthA
good physique including stature of course is the
result of a healthful diet. This is what the
French call a trueism ! For instance, WHO uses
NHANES III as a standard for a wellfed
population.H is used to interprete socioeconomic
wellbeing. Tallness should associate with
longevity. Can H be used to generate credible
mortality data ?What other applications does
anthropometrics have ?
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Many countries still do not have reliable vital
statistics even though infectious diseases may be
better controlled. H cannot accurately substitute
for regional mortalities, although it is far
better than nothing. Malnutrition in the past and
shortness in the presence are part of latin
history. How is health improving
?Anthropometrics by region can aid greatly in
health and civic planning. It can serve to create
an interesting and socially productive morbidity.
In its turn, this new morbidity will reveal
those areas that need more attention.