title: Height and weight of early 20th century Filipino men.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent anthropometric studies of Filipinos have concentrated on women and children. While present-day studies of Filipino men are few, scattered sources of historical height and weight samples exist and can be studied to estimate a rough baseline for comparison, as well as to study trends in the past.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This paper estimates heights and weights of men in the Philippines about a century ago. Height-by-age profiles and comparisons to contemporary populations in south-east Asia as well as present day Filipinos provide context.
  
  
  METHODS
  One sample consisted of 843 prisoners from throughout the islands, who were measured by an American anthropologist in Manila. A previously overlooked published source included measurements of 1016 seamen, police and prison guards, and civil servants in Manila. A contemporary source also measured 100 relatively remote Igorrote in Luzon.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Average heights fell in a relatively narrow range of 1.60-1.62 m, except for police who were subject to a minimum height requirement. Body mass index (BMI) fell in a broader range of 18.24-21.26. Some regional variation was also evident in the prisoner sample. Height-by-age profiles suggested some improvement in net nutritional conditions over the century.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Heights of turn of the century Filipino men were not very different from men elsewhere in south-east Asia, nor from present-day Filipino men. To understand trends in heights over the longer term more samples of men in the present-day Philippines would be desirable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606-3390, USA. jmurray@uoft02.utoledo.edu
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000883:Anthropology; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010679:Philippines