Greek young men grow taller.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether a secular trend for greater height is still observed in young Greek men.


METHODS
Height and weight of 3982 Greek conscripts, aged 18-26 years, were measured and correlated with the level of education and place of residence. Our data were collected from May 2006 to May 2007 from pre-selected army camps all over Greece. The data were compared with those of a similar study performed in 1990.


RESULTS
Mean height (+/-SD) of the conscripts was 178.06 (+/-7.05) cm. From 1990 until 2006, mean height increased from 175.7 cm to 178.06 cm (p < 0.001), corresponding to 1.47 cm/decade. Height was positively correlated with the place of residence (p = 0.007) and the level of education (p < 0.001) of the conscripts.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data show a further increase in the stature of young Greek men in the last 16 years. It appears that the male Greek population has still not exhausted its growth potential.
Papadimitriou
Anastasios
A
Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens School of Medicine, Attikon University Hospital, Athens, Greece. anpapad@med.uoa.gr
Fytanidis
Grigorios
G
Douros
Konstandinos
K
Papadimitriou
Dimitrios T
DT
Nicolaidou
Polyxeni
P
Fretzayas
Andreas
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004522:Educational Status; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data