title: Intergenerational influences on the growth of Maya children: The effect of living conditions experienced by mothers and maternal grandmothers during their childhood.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the hypothesis that living conditions experienced by maternal grandmothers (F1 generation) and mothers (F2 generation) during their childhood are related to height and leg length (LL: height - sitting height) of their 6-to-8 year old children (F3 generation).
  
  
  METHODS
  From September 2011 to June 2012 we obtained height and LL, and calculated z-score values of these measurements for 109 triads (F1 , F2 , F3 ) who are Maya living in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico. Multiple regression models were adjusted to examine the relation of anthropometric and intergenerational socioeconomic parameters of F1 (house index and family size during childhood) and F2 (paternal job loss during childhood) with the z-score values of height and LL of F3 .
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children's height and LL were positively associated with maternal height and LL. This association was relatively stronger in LL. Better categories of grand-maternal house index were significantly associated with higher values of height and LL in grandchildren. Grand-maternal family size was positively related with LL, but not with height.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings partially support the hypothesis that living conditions experienced by recent maternal ancestors (F1 and F2 ) during their growth period influence the growth of descendants (F3 ). Results suggest that LL is more sensitive to intergenerational influences than is total height and that the transition from a traditional rural lifestyle to urban conditions results in new exposures for risk in human physical growth.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecología Humana, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav)-Unidad Mérida, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, México.
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Azcorra
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecología Humana, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (Cinvestav)-Unidad Mérida, 97310, Mérida, Yucatán, México.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dickinson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Global Health and Human Development, School of Sports, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bogin
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Matemáticas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, Yucatán, México.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Centre for Global Health and Human Development, School of Sports, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough LE11 3TU, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Maria Inês
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Varela-Silva
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001827:Body Height; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002947:Cities; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D055815:Young Adult