Height and weight of early 20th century Filipino men.
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.
Murray
John E
JE
Department of Economics, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH 43606-3390, USA. jmurray@uoft02.utoledo.edu
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