title: Towards an anthropometric history of latin America in the second half of the twentieth century.
abstract: We examine the evolution of adult female heights in twelve Latin American countries during the second half of the twentieth century based on demographic health surveys and related surveys compiled from national and international organizations. Only countries with more than one survey were included, allowing us to cross-examine surveys and correct for biases. We first show that average height varies significantly according to location, from 148.3cm in Guatemala to 158.8cm in Haiti. The evolution of heights over these decades behaves like indicators of human development, showing a steady increase of 2.6cm from the 1950s to the 1990s. Such gains compare favorably to other developing regions of the world, but not so much with recently developed countries. Height gains were not evenly distributed in the region, however. Countries that achieved higher levels of income, such as Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico, gained on average 0.9cm per decade, while countries with shrinking economies, such as Haiti and Guatemala, only gained 0.25cm per decade.
authors.affiliation: Department of History, Bowling Green State University, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Amílcar E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Challú
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Relaciones Internacionales, ITAM, Mexico City, Mexico. Electronic address: sergio.silva@itam.mx.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Silva-Castañeda
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001827:Body Height; D019049:Developed Countries / Q000266:history / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003906:Developing Countries / Q000266:history / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D059066:Gross Domestic Product / Q000266:history* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Adult heights; Economic development; Economic growth; Latin America; Twentieth century