Historical perspectives on health: assessment of national progress in public health in England, 1832-1911.
The health of society is the sum of recent public policy and the heritage of public health and welfare. The degree of improvement in the health of young males in the nineteenth century may be gauged by scrutinizing changes in the ratio of weight to height2 (W/H2). The two variables summate the developmental history of individuals, and so are an index of biosocial circumstances for a set of people. Such data are uncommon, and this essay formulates the ratio for the years 1832 to 1911. The conclusion is that, according to the W/H2 criterion, innovations in public policy produced improvement in the health of young males.
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Child Development, University of Missouri-St Louis 63011-5100, USA.
D004739:England; D005260:Female; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends; D011788:Quality of Life