title: Secular trends of height, weight and BMI in young adult Brazilian military students in the 20th century.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Secular trends of increasing weight and height over past centuries are well documented in developed countries. However, these data are still scarce in developing countries such as Brazil.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To verify the secular trends of height, weight and body mass index (BMI) of military students from Brazilian Army schools who were born between the 1920s and 1990s.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective study was performed, which included a survey of data from the files of two Army schools. The sample was composed of subjects aged between 18-20 years old.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study analysed 2169 heights and 1741 weights and BMIs. During the evaluation period, height increased 7.3 cm, weight 9.8 kg and BMI 1.8 kg/m(2). The most significant gains were observed in subjects born from the 1920s to the 1940s and the 1960s to the 1970s.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Secular trends of growth in military students born in the 20th century were positive in Brazil, although increases were not constant decade-by-decade.
authors.affiliation: Growth and Body Composition Lab, Center for Investigation in Pediatrics (CIPED), Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Campinas (UNICAMP) , Campinas, São Paulo , Brazil.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Avila
authors.forename: E M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
authors.forename: V J O
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Barbeta
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Morcillo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Guerra-Junior
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001938:Brazil; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D013334:Students; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult