bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Body circumferences as measures of body fat distribution in 10–14‐year‐old schoolchildren
Authors: Mueller William H. , Marbella Anne , Harrist Ronald B. , Kaplowitz Haley Jo , Grunbaum Jo Anne , Labarthe Darwin R.
Published: June 2005

In this paper the hypothesis is tested that circumferences are as useful as skinfolds in children aged 10–14 years to detect variation in regional fat distribution. This would be confirmed by the appearance of a significant canonical correlation between a vector of appropriately selected circumferences and an analogous vector of skinfolds, producing a weighted pattern suggestive of centralized obesity (that is a series of mathematical weights of different signs for central versus peripheral regions of the body). The hypothesis is confirmed (P < 0.01) in this sample of 378 children of both sexes. The association occurs in the second canonical correlation after a strong first canonical correlation providing information about fatness level (0.83–0.87). The canonical correlations are low (0.29 in boys, 0.36 in girls), lower than has previously been reported in a similar study of adults. The circumferences most heavily weighted in opposite directions are the waist and thigh. These results are in accord with adult studies. This study did not support the use of the waist‐hip circumference combination, the measures currently used in most epidemiologic studies of body fat distribution.
Stress, migration, and blood pressure in Kiribati
Authors: Lewis David E.
Published: June 2005

Investigation into the relationship between essential hypertension and migration and modernization typically conclude that modernized, urban migrants have more elevated blood pressures with age and are more at risk from hypertension than are their traditional rural sedentary compatriots. These differences are often attributed to greater stresses on the migrating or modernizing segment of the population. In contrast, this study of rural sedentes and urban migrants in Kiribati (Gilbert Islands) indicates that hypertension and elevation of pressure with age have appeared in this modernizing population which was free of essential hypertension less than twenty years previously. Yet there are no significant differences in blood pressure or the incidence of hypertension of migrants and sedentes. This similarity of rural and urban islanders' health status is traced to the stress‐relieving nature of migration and the urban experience in Kiribati.
Longitudinal growth of high socioeconomic status Guatemalan children analyzed by the Preece‐Baines function: An international comparison
Authors: Bogin Barry , Wall Maureen , Macvean Robert B.
Published: June 2005

The Preece‐Baines model I function, adapted for use with a personal computer, is applied to the longitudinal growth records of Guatemalan children and adolescents of high socioeconomic status. The fit of the Preece‐Baines function to the Guatemalan data is compared with those of published analyses of the function fitted to the growth of British, Belgian, urban and rural Indian, Australian Aborigine, and African children. Guatemalan, British, and Belgian samples share generally favorable environments for human development and show few differences in the amount and velocity of growth, or in the timing of growth events. Urban Indians live under relatively good environmental conditions and are similar to Guatemalans in the timing of growth events, but grow more slowly and grow less than the Guatemalans, British, or Belgians. Rural Indian, Australian, and African samples live in environments that delay or retard growth, and these last‐named three samples grow more slowly, delay the onset of the adolescent growth spurt, and achieve smaller adult height than the Guatemalans. Parameters of the Preece‐Baines model are compared between all samples and show that there are several alternate paths in the rate of growth and the timing of adolescent growth events that may be taken from childhood to adulthood.
Infant‐feeding practices and childhood stature in three ethnic groups
Authors: Baranowski Tom , Rassin David , Harrison Joel A. , Bryan George , Henske Janice , Puhl Jackie
Published: June 2005

Inconsistencies in the literature on the relationship of infant feeding practices to stature were explored in a tri‐ethnic sample of 3‐ or 4‐year‐old children. Measures of child stature, maternal stature, child age, type of infant milk‐feeding, time of introduction of high fat and high carbohydrate foods, and social characteristics were analyzed with multivariate statistical techniques. No statistically significant bivariate or more complex relationships were detected between the modes of infant‐feeding and child stature. The best‐fitting regression equation accounted for 61% of the variance, revealing strong relationships with child age and maternal height, and weak relationships with child adiposity, gender, and ethnicity. The present results indicate that there is little likelihood that metabolic effects induced by methods of infant‐feeding affect stature, at least among 3‐ or 4‐year‐old children.
Anthropometric somatotype of Bod girls: A comparison of high and low altitude populations
Authors: Pandey Atul K. , Malik S. L.
Published: June 2005

The high altitude environment is known to influence the morphophysiology of man in a variety of ways. Its possible impact on somatotype of adolescent girls has not been investigated so far. For this purpose 348 female Bods, from 10 to 18 years old, have been somatotyped from high altitude (n = 176) of Ladakh (3,534 m) and low altitude (n = 172) of Kullu Valley (1,500–2,200 m). The results of the study reveal greater mesomorphy and ectomorphy in the high altitude Bod girls than in ethnically similar low altitude Bod girls of comparable age. The study has accorded the differences in the somatotypes to the high altitude stresses. Striking similarities in boys and girls in terms of higher mesomorphy and ectomorphy in the highlander Bods than the coeval lowlanders confirm the hypothesis that the high altitude environment influences the somatotype components.
Determining growth faltering with a tracking score
Authors: Frongillo Edward A. , Rothe Gail E. , Lambert Jennifer K. J.
Published: June 2005

A tracking score for determining growth faltering in children was developed and tested. A graphical method was developed for classifying by visual inspection whether or not a given child had faltered in growth. This method was used to classify all children in a sample of Guatemalan children as to faltering in both weight and length between 9 and 24 months of age; 80 of 345 children had faltered in weight, and 44 of 336 children had faltered in length. The accuracies for determining this faltering of seven versions of the tracking score and that of three other commonly used scores were assessed and compared using ROC curves, the areas under the curves, and two other ways. The other scores tested were the increment score, the residual score, and a growth‐curve parameter score. The accuracies of the scores were overall lower for weight than for length. For both weight and length, the growth‐curve parameter score had the lowest accuracy, and the tracking score that used an intermediate number of measurements (four in the interval of interest and three in the previous interval) had the highest accuracy. The tracking score has a number of features that make it attractive as an indicator of faltering. It is easy to calculate and interpret, preserves magnitude and direction, incorporates several growth measurements into a single indicator of faltering, gives equal weight to the information in all the measurements used, allows for missing measurements, and can be generalized to include other aspects of growth.
Effect of tooth size on the ageing and chronological distribution of enamel hypoplastic defects
Authors: Hodges Denise C. , Wilkinson Richard G.
Published: June 2005

The location of enamel hypoplastic defects on the tooth crown has been used to determine the age of an individual at the time the defect‐producing stress occurred. The assumptions made in following this methodology are examined, and one in particular, that tooth size variation has a minimal impact on ageing and subsequent chronological distributions, is tested. Teeth with no occlusal or minimal wear and with enamel hypoplasias were measured for crown height and the location of the defect on the crown. Two samples are used, one comprising a series of archaeological specimens and the other from modern clinical extractions. The chronological distributions of the defects are determined by three different methods: one is based on a tooth mineralization chart; the second method uses the same chart but incorporates individual crown heights; and the third method adjusts the chart for the sample's mean crown heights. Significant differences between the age estimates are observed in both the modern and archaeological samples. Tooth size does affect the ageing of hypoplastic defects and the chronological distributions. By adjusting the mineralization chart for the sample's mean crown heights, the significant differences in age estimates can be corrected.
Evaluation of physical growth of children in a rainforest community of northwestern Ecuador
Authors: Gettys Vivian R. , Gettys Tom W.
Published: June 2005

The physical growth of children under 5 years of age was studied in relation to patterns of nutrition, morbidity, and health care utilization in three remote villages of tropical Ecuador. Age‐specific comparisons of height and weight to growth curves from reference populations (US National Child Health Survey) indicated moderate to severe stunting in the population of male and female children. Examination of height‐weight relationships as a measure of recent nutritional status provided little evidence that male children were underweight for their height. However, the observation that female children fell between the 3rd and 50th centile channels of the reference population in their height‐weight relationship suggested moderate wasting in addition to substantial stunting. Endemic parasitism and a high rate of diarrheal illnesses were detected in the study population and were likely contributing agents to the stunting observed in male and female children. No dichotomy in the incidence of diarrhea was detected between male and female children, and if the episode was mild it was typical not to treat the illness, regardless of sex. In more severe cases, female children were more frequently taken to traditional healers. However, when familial self‐treatment or local clinics were used, male children were more likely to be the beneficiary. Thus it seems possible that this advantage, along with the cultural practice of investing more of the family's resources in male children, may be responsible for the wasting detected in young females. Tropical conditions, chronic undernutrition, compromised cellular immunity, and inadequate health care services were likely causes of the high morbidity and mortality of children under age 5. Community‐based programs of health promotion and disease prevention appear to offer the best potential as intervention strategies in these villages.
Contributions of nutrition versus hypoxia to growth in rural Andean populations
Authors: Leonard W. R. , Leatherman T. L. , Carey J. W. , Thomas R. B.
Published: June 2005

Previous research on diet and nutrition among peasant agriculturalists in the Andes has produced inconsistent results. As a consequence it has been difficult to determine the extent to which nutritional factors contribute to the slowed, prolonged growth and resultant small adult body size that is characteristic of these highland populations. The study examines patterns of diet and growth in the rural highland community of Nuñoa, Peru (elevation 4,000 m), and compares them to similar data collected on this community during the 1960s. Additional data from other locations in the Andes are then evaluated to discern critical determinants of growth variation.

Analyses of the Nuñoan data indicate that nutritional factors have played a significant role in shaping statural growth at this location. Comparisons of other growth surveys indicate that Nuñoans remain among the smallest of all Andean populations. Additionally, urban/rural differences in growth are quite evident in the highlands, with the magnitude of this difference being greater than in other regions (i.e., coastal or jungle). It appears that income level and access to land strongly interact to direct and constrain food consumption patterns. The resulting differences in nutrition, in turn, appear to be strong predictors of growth variation. Consequently, studies that consider 1) dietary intake, 2) level of variability in diet, and 3) relative contributions of purchased and home‐produced food to diet should contribute to furthering our understanding of growth variation in the Andes.
Ventilation and the control of erythropoiesis in high‐altitude natives of Chile and Nepal
Authors: Winslow Robert M. , Chapman Keith W. , Monge C. Carlos
Published: June 2005

Previous studies have suggested that the hematocrit and hemoglobin values in Himalayan natives (Sherpas) are lower than those of Andean natives (Quechua Indians) living at the same altitude, perhaps because of genetic differences. To study these populations further, we selected healthy male subjects in Ollagüe, Chile (n = 29, age = 27.3 ± 15.9 years), and in Khunde, Nepal (n = 30, age = 24.7 ± 13.8 years). Both of these villages are located at 3,700 m above sea level. Hematologic measurements confirmed lower hematocrit values in Nepal (48.4 ± 1 4.5%) than in Chile (52.2 ± 1 4.6%) (P < 0.003). When subjects were matched for hematocrit, erythropoietin concentrations in Chile were higher than in Nepal (P < 0.01).

To investigate a possible link between ventilation and erythropoiesis, we studied the ventilatory response to hypoxia in Sherpas with differing hematocrits. Our subjects could be classified as “responders” or “nonresponders” with respect to their pattern of ventilation after inspiration of 1 or 2 breaths of N2. The responders had significantly (P < 0.02) lower hematocrits (mean 46.6 ± 3.0%) than the nonresponders (mean 52.4 ± 5.0%), suggesting that ventilatory sensitivity to hypoxia may play a role in determining the hematocrit in these subjects.
Applications of anthropometry to epidemiologic studies of nutrition and cancer
Authors: Micozzi Marc S.
Published: June 2005

Epidemiologic research on cancer has recently expanded into new areas of investigation directly related to aspects of human biology, such as human diet and nutrition. The overall pattern of scientific evidence has suggested that dietary patterns in early life, as well as in adulthood, may be related to the long‐term risk of certain cancers. Anthropometry has considerable potential in cancer research as an indirect means of both childhood and adult nutritional assessment. Anthropometry has advantages in application to cancer studies when the sample size is large, as it must be to test most contemporary diet‐cancer hypotheses. The anthropometric dimensions selected for measurement should be reliable, readily accessible in field or clinical situations with high rates of subject participation, have established correlations to other body dimensions, and be comparable to dimensions measured in other studies. Appropriate standards of practice and quality control procedures in cancer studies may differ somewhat from those employed in human growth studies. Anthropometry is an important biomedical research methodology, which may be used to study the relations between nutrition, body size, and cancer, leading to better identification of individuals and human populations at increased risk.
Twin study of digital dermatoglyphic traits: Investigation of heritability
Authors: Arrieta M. I. , Salazar L. , Criado B. , Martinez B. , Lostao C. M.
Published: June 2005

Digital patterns of a sample of monozygotic and dizygotic twins were analyzed to obtain heritability values for the four basic types of patterns: arch, tented arch, loops, and whorls. Loops have been separated according to their orientation radial or ulnar. To carry out this study, we used the Holzinger and Clark indices. The results show highest concordances for monozygotic twins except for ulnar loops of the left hand and radial ones of the right hand. Different values of heritability were found for the right and left hands, with finger I having the highest values.
Validity of skinfold and girth based regression equations for the prediction of body composition in obese adults
Authors: Seip Richard L. , Weltman Arthur
Published: June 2005

The validity of generalized and obese population‐specific body composition prediction equations for estimating percent fat was examined. Thirty‐eight clinically obese women (mean ± SD, % fat = 46.4 ± 5.2%, body mass = 97.2 ± 17.7 kg, age = 41.8 ± 13.3 years) and 16 clinically obese men (% fat = 39.2 ± 3.8%, body mass = 126.7 ± 24.6 kg, age = 43.0 ± 11.6 years) had % body fat estimated by hydrostatic weighing (with RV measured) and had a series of skinfold and girth‐based prediction equations applied to estimate % fat. The equations were chosen because they were said to be “generalized” or because they were “population specific” to obese samples of subjects. Results of the present study indicated that the majority of prediction equations were not valid estimators of % body fat in obese males and females. Of the equations that were valid estimators of % body fat (mean differences in % fat of < 3%, r ≥ 0.70, SE < 5%), all but one (Lohman, 1981) utilized girths as part of the prediction technique. It was concluded that generalized girth‐based equations could be utilized for prediction of % body fat in obese subjects.
Causes of death and the components of mortality: Testing the biological interpretations of a competing hazards model
Authors: Gage Timothy B.
Published: June 2005

Biological interpretations of a competing hazards model intended to express the age pattern of mortality throughout the life span are evaluated using cause of death data. The model examined is the Siler model, which consists of three competing hazards, immature, residual, and senescent. The data employed are the worldwide sample of life tables and decremented life tables, that is, life tables with a cause of death eliminated, assembled by Preston et al. (Causes of Death Life Tables for National Populations. New York: Seminar Press, 1972). The results indicate that causes of death are accounted for by the model in a manner consistent with the biological interpretations of the hazard functions. For example, the cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, and other degenerative diseases are accounted for by the senescent component of morality. This is a valuable characteristic of the model that may prove useful for assessing errors in cause of death data and identifying variation in the impact of a cause of death on the age patterns of mortality. For example, only 30% of deaths classified as due to other and unknown causes are attributed by the model to the senescent component of mortality and are consequently likely to be due to degenerative diseases. This finding contradicts the conventional assumption that the majority of other and unknown causes of death are due to the degenerative diseases. Additional results show that certain causes of death, such as influenza, pneumonia, and bronchitis, can occur in different components of mortality, suggesting that some categories of death may express several different etiologies. Partial correlation analysis indicates that much of this variation in etiology occurs among (and not within) populations. It is concluded that the Siler model is a useful framework for studying historical and/or cross‐national trends in mortality.
A commingling analysis of obesity in the Tecumseh community health study
Authors: Province M. A. , Keller J. , Higgins M. , Rao D. C.
Published: June 2005

A commingling analysis of the distributions of obesity as quantified by Quetelet's index, triceps skinfold, suprailiac skinfold, umbilical skinfold, subscapular skinfold, a trunk‐extremity ratio of skinfold measurements and Quetelet‐adjusted trunk‐extremity ratio was performed in a population of 9,226 individuals living in Tecumseh, Michigan, during 1962–1965. For all but the (non‐Quetelet‐adjusted) trunk‐extremity ratio, two or three distributions were needed to fit the data adequately even after performing a power transformation to eliminate skewness. Although this evidence is compatible with a major gene effect, segregation analyses of these data using the unified, mixed model are necessary to resolve whether the commingling is due to a major gene.
Growth status of children in rural Mali: Implications for nutrition education programs
Authors: Dettwyler Katherine A.
Published: June 2005

In conjunction with a rural development project, a cross‐sectional anthropometric survey and ethnographic research were conducted in six rural villages in southern Mali where food is generally sufficient. A total of 1,132 individuals were measured, and individual and group interviews concerning dietary habits and intra‐familial food distribution patterns were conducted. In this paper, data on the growth status of children under 12 years of age (N=575) are reported and analyzed. As defined by inadequate growth, rates of malnutrition are extremely high in this population. Deficits in growth peak among the 2 year olds, with 67% falling more than 2 SD below the NCHS/WHO standard for weight‐for‐age, and 53% falling more than 2SD below the standard for height‐for‐age. Deficits in weight‐for‐height are highest among the 1 year olds, with 32% falling more than 2 SD below the NCHS/WHO standards. From birth to 23 months, the correlation between age (in months) and weight‐for‐age z‐scores is −.63 (P=.0001). Between 24 and 47 months, the correlation improves, to +.36 (P=.0004), indicating that children experience some catch‐up growth. By the age of 11 years, they still have not recovered fully from the combination of poor nutrition and infections in early childhood, however, and malnutrition continues to be a problem throughout childhood. Iodine deficiency is also a problem in two of the six villages. Interview data confirm earlier findings in Mali regarding child feeding practices, specifically, that infants and young children are expected to feed themselves, and that the best foods are reserved for adults. These findings have important implications for the design and implementation of nutrition education programs in southern Mali.
Weight of the testes in Northwest Indian adults
Authors: Jit Indar , Sanjeev
Published: June 2005

Three hundred twenty‐five pairs of testes were obtained from northwest Indian subjects of Chandigarh zone aged 18 to 80 years, on whom medicolegal postmortems had been performed by the senior author. The weight of each testis along with epididymis was recorded on a single pan electric balance. The mean weight of the right testis was 17.18 ± 4.32g in 18–20‐year‐old subjects, and increased steadily to 19.44 ± 4.67 g in 41–50‐year‐old subjects. The weight decreased thereafter, to 17.77 ± 4.75 g in the age group of 51–60 years and 17.57 ± 5.10 g in subjects above 60 years. The weight of the left testis was about one gram less than that of the right but followed the same age‐related pattern. To calculate the weight of testis from its measurement, a regression formula was developed for each age group. The calculated weight by the regression formula and the actual weight were almost the same (P> 0.05). The formula could be effectively used to determine the weight of a testis in a living subject by taking testicular measurements (length, side‐to‐side, antero‐posterior) with a sliding caliper. The procedure seems to be preferable than estimating the volume of testis by an orchidometer, which introduces considerable subjective error.
Growth of native Hawaiian school children: I. Research design, stature, and weight measurements
Authors: Brown Daniel E. , Johnson Jerry L. , Severance Craig J.
Published: June 2005

A semilongitudinal survey of the growth of native Hawaiian school children, focused on the development of fatness, has been carried out on the Island of Hawaii. Four cohorts of children, first studied in grades one, four, seven, and ten, were measured annually for four years. Several factors, including percentage of Polynesian ancestry, identification with Hawaiian culture, socioeconomic status, dietary intake, and physical fitness, have been considered for their potential relationship to the development of fatness Data presented here indicate that native Hawaiian boys tend to be taller for their age than NHANES‐II medians until age 14 years, but are not significantly taller than their non‐Hawaiian classmates. Native Hawaiian boys and girls are heavier for their age than NHANES‐II medians at most ages and are significantly heavier than non‐Hawaiian classmates. Percentage of Polynesian ancestry is a significant predictor variable of both stature‐for‐age and weight‐for‐age among native Hawaiian children in the first and fourth grade cohorts. Study of fatness in a genetically heterogeneous Polynesian population that is relatively homogeneous in regard to modernization may yield insights into genetic contributions to the problem of obesity among Pacific Islanders.
Demographic dimensions of population aging in developing countries
Authors: Kinsella Kevin , Suzman Richard
Published: June 2005

Several demographic aspects of population aging in developing countries are considered: the older old, the median age of a population, life expectancy and mortality, functional status and disability, sex differences, urbanization, and the labor force. While the demographic impact of population aging is becoming better appreciated, the descriptive epidemiology of age‐related changes in health and physical functioning in developing countries is still at an early stage.
Bone remodeling in old age: Longitudinal monitoring in Arizona
Authors: Stini William , Stein Patricia , Chen Zhao
Published: June 2005

Beginning in October, 1982, annual monitoring of the density of the radius has been conducted on a population of affluent elderly citizens of Sun City, Arizona. In the summer of 1983, a second component of the project was added, drawing on residents of subsidized retirement residences in Tucson, Arizona. The study, now in its eighth year, has followed the procedure of collecting data on 225 individuals in each city each year, adding new subjects to compensate for attrition as needed. Total sample size in this mixed‐longitudinal study presently stands at 1209. In order to develop normative standards for all age groups and allow construction of sex‐specific bone density profiles for the two populations, additional subjects were recruited from the University community and from health monitoring projects in progress in the College of Medicine. The total sample is presently slightly over 2,000 individuals, approximately 1,500 of whom are women. In addition to bone mineral density data, collected with a Lunar SP‐2 photon absorptiometer at a site located one‐third of the distance from the distal end of the radius, comprehensive questionnaire data concerning medical history, current medications, exercise habits, and nutritional intakes were collected in the Sun City and Tucson longitudinal studies. One of the most significant findings of this study to date has been the sharp difference between the remodeling patterns observed in men as opposed to women. In addition, longitudinal observations show that bone loss follows a pattern that is more episodic than steady in both sexes.
Nutritional requirements and human evolution: A bioenergetics model
Authors: Leonard William R. , Robertson Marcia L.
Published: June 2005

A bioenergetics model is developed to examine changes in metabolic requirements over the course of human evolution. Data on (1) body size and resting metabolism, (2) brain size and metabolism, (3) activity budgets, and (4) foraging patterns for humans and other anthropoids are used to evaluate ecological correlates of variation in diet and energy expenditure. Analyses of variation in these extant species provide a framework for estimating (1) resting metabolic requirements, (2) brain metabolic needs, and (3) total energy requirements in fossil hominids. Anthropoid primates spend about 8% of resting metabolism to maintain their brains, a significantly larger proportion than in other mammals (3–4%), but still significantly less than 20–25% in humans. Total energy expenditure among anthropoids is positively correlated with day range and dietary quality. Human foragers fit this pattern, having high levels of energy expenditure, large foraging ranges, and a high quality diet. Within the fossil record, it appears that both total energy expenditure (TEE) and energy required by the brain increased substantially with the emergence of Homo erectus. For H. erectus, the percentage of resting metabolism used by the brain falls beyond the nonhuman primate range and approaches the modern human range. Additionally, TEE is 35–55% greater than in the australopithecines. The high total metabolic needs and the large proportion of energy required by the brain imply that important dietary changes occurred with H. erectus. These metabolic and dietary changes are linked to (1) the emergence of hunting and gathering, (2) the evolution of the human pattern of prolonged development, and (3) the coexistence and competition with the robust australopithecines.
Nutritional ecology in the tropical rain forests of Amazonia
Authors: Dufour Darna L.
Published: June 2005

Available data on diet and nutritional status of Amerindians living in the tropical rain forests of Amazonia are reviewed and evaluated. The diets of most Amerindians are based on cassava and plantains/bananas, with high‐quality protein coming from fish, game, and invertebrates. Although tropical rain forests are rich in plant species, wild plants do not appear to be very important in the diet. Their use, however, has not received much attention and may be underestimated. The composition of Amerindian diets is known for only a few groups, in whom the dietary intake of households and adults appears to be adequate in energy and protein. However, the high‐bulk, low‐caloric density of the diets means that they are probably not sufficiently concentrated for children. Anthropometric data are available for a number of groups. Adults are small in size, but nutritional status assessed in terms of the BMI is good. Children are small for age, and in some groups more than 10% would be classified as undernourished on the basis of weight‐for‐height and/or clinical signs.
Relation of subcutaneous fat distribution to percentage of Polynesian ancestry in native Hawaiian children
Authors: Brown Daniel E. , Koenig Tupou V. , Demorales Alexis M. , Mossman Konrad K. , Akina Charlene M. , Sako Ehukai K.
Published: June 2005

A semilongitudinal study of the growth of Hawaiian children from four cohorts was carried out with measurements taken at four consecutive annual visits. Each visit entailed an anthropometric battery, including skinfold measurements at six sites. Additionally, interviews with children and their families elicited information on socioeconomic status, other social conditions, and degree of identification with Hawaiian culture. Genealogies were completed to allow estimates of percentage of Polynesian ancestry (PPA) for the Hawaiian children, with estimates compressed into quartiles of PPA. A principal components analysis of the six skinfold measures for each child was carried out, deriving two components. Components relating to centrality of fat distribution were significantly higher among native Hawaiians than in non‐Hawaiians, and the components were significantly related to PPA in analyses of covariance for preadolescent children. The relationship between socioeconomic variables and amount of body fatness appears to be stronger than the relationship between these variables and fat distribution. The results suggest a relatively greater role for Polynesian hereditary influence on fat distribution than on quantity of fat among contemporary native Hawaiian children. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
On the road to health? Road traffic accidents in Pacific societies: The case of Niue Island, western Polynesia
Authors: Barker Judith C.
Published: June 2005

Road traffic accidents (RTAs) in Pacific societies in general are examined and a case study presented. There is a paucity of data on Pacific RTAs. Available data are generally poor in quality and specificity, with few adequate measures of risk. Despite this, it is clear that motor vehicle accidents are responsible for considerable mortality and morbidity throughout the Pacific. Most Pacific societies are in a state of low motorization and are experiencing high vehicle fatality rates but low population fatality rates. When motorization reaches a higher level, however, RTA deaths and injuries begin to have an impact on population structure and on societal as well as family economies. Using archival and ethnographic evidence, examination is made of the sociocultural context of motor vehicle use, roaduser behavior, and RTA occurrence on Niue Island, a nation with a high degree of motorization. Motorcycles are the preferred mode of transport on Niue. Cultural values and behaviors that affect motor vehicle accident rates include exaggerated risk‐taking, especially by young adult males. Alcohol plays a significant role in driving and other risky behaviors. Such behavior appears not just on Niue but in other Pacific nations also. It is vital to effectively monitor motor vehicle collisions and the effects of road and traffic development in these small scale societies. Culturally appropriate “road rules” and driver education campaigns, enforcement of traffic ordinances, highway improvement, and the development of safe public transport systems will be needed in order to reduce both short‐term and long‐term consequences of continued motorization and RTAs. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Plotting somatotypes using SAS/GRAPH
Authors: Satake Takashi , Morris Paul G. , Danker‐Hopfe Heidi , Malina Robert M.
Published: June 2005

Plotting somatotypes is a convenient method for displaying variation in somatotype distributions. A program for drawing the somatochart and plotting somatotype data using SAS/GRAPH on the IBM mainframe is described. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Arm muscle and fat areas vs. weight/length ratio in the assessment of protein energy malnutrition
Authors: El‐Nofely Aly , El‐Ghadban H. M. , El‐Masry S. A.
Published: June 2005

A cross‐sectional sample was examined of 68 male and 63 female malnourished Egyptian children, 1–3 years of age, attending the Malnutrition Unit of the Children's Hospital of Cairo University. Body weight, length, left mid‐upper arm circumference, and the triceps skinfold thickness were measured. Arm muscle and fat areas were calculated as was the weight for length ratio. Comparisons were attempted between arm muscle and fat areas and weight/age, length/age, and weight/length ratios relative to the clinical picture of protein energy malnutrition (PEM). The results revealed that arm muscle area is a better diagnostic indicator of PEM, particularly in boys, whereas the weight/length ratio is a better choice for girls. Although arm fat area is a very sensitive indicator of energy deficit, it cannot serve alone as an adequate index of general nutritional status. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Familial resemblance in somatotype
Authors: Song Thomas M. K. , Malina Robert M. , Bouchard Claude
Published: June 2005

Parent‐child, sibling, and spouse similarities in Health‐Carter somatotype components are considered in 938 individuals from 243 nuclear families of French Canadian ancestry. Familial correlations were considered for each somatotype component, after adjusting for age, gender, and the other somatotype components. Correlations were also calculated with and without adjustment for energy intake (EI) and physical activity level (AL). AL and EI were estimated from 3‐day records, including a weekend day. Age and gender accounted for a significant (P < 0.01) proportion of variation in somatotype components of parents and children. The addition of AL and EI to age and gender in the regression analysis increased the variance explained by 11% (children) and 18% (adults) for endomorphy, 6% (children) and 8% (adults) for mesomorphy, and 11% (children) and 20% (adults) for ectomorphy. Spouse correlations for somatotype components were low and not significant. Parent‐child and sibling correlations were significant and ranged from 0.18 to 0.48 for endomorphy, 0.23 to 0.59 for mesomorphy, and 0.14 to 0.47 for ectomorphy. Adjusting for AL and EI did not appreciably influence the familial correlations. Parent‐offspring and sibling correlations showed familial aggregation for mesomorphy, while correlations for endomorphy and ectomorphy were lower. These results are consistent with a transmission effect across generations and, perhaps heritability, with the level being highest for mesomorphy. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Growth changes of Chinese Mongolian, Uygur, Korean, and Tibetan ethnic groups in the past forty years
Authors: Ji Cheng‐Ye , Ohsawa Seiji
Published: June 2005

Growth changes in stature and weight between 1950–60s and 1991 of four Chinese ethnic groups were surveyed: the Mongolian, Uygur, Korean, and Tibetan minorities. The subjects were school children and youths aged 7 through 17 years who lived in the urban areas of Huhehaote city, Wulumuqi city, and Lasa city, where the corresponding groups lived. An overall increase in body size was found in both boys and girls. Increments of stature and weight for the four groups were as high as 3.22–4.15 cm/decade and 1.72–2.74 kg/decade for boys aged 13, and 2.41–4.01 cm/decade and 1.13–2.41 kg/decade for girls aged 11. Children in 1991 also showed a trend of attaining the adolescent growth spurt earlier than the generation of 30–40 years ago. However, the comparison of the growth status of the four groups with the Chinese Han showed that changes in these ethnic groups over the past 30–40 years were not sufficient to make up for the growth deficits incurred during their long histoies. Factors underlying these growth changes were discussed, and strategies for further improvement of growth were suggested. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Molecular studies of the genetics of non–insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus
Authors: Ferrell Robert E. , Iyengar Sudha
Published: June 2005

Non–insulin‐dependent mellitus (NIDDM) is a common, multifactorial disease with a significant genetic component to disease susceptibility. Biometrical analysis of family data has consistently found evidence of the action of a major gene in determining susceptibility to NIDDM in families. However, the identity of the gene or genes that contribute to NIDDM in the general population is still not known. Recent advances in molecular biology have given investigators access to a number of plausible candidate genes for NIDDM and these have been used as test loci in association and linkage studies with inconsistent results. A review of the candidate gene studies in NIDDM suggests that the failure of these studies to identify specific loci involved in conferring susceptibility to NIDDM is, in part, due to failure to incorporate a number of biological features of the disease. The frequency of NIDDM in the population suggests that the alleles involved in NIDDM are common and their individual impact too small to be detected by simple single locus methods of analysis. Studies of other phenotypic forms of diabetes mellitus suggest that susceptibility to NIDDM is probably determined by alleles at more than one locus acting independently or in concert. The evolutionary history of certain populations may have isolated alleles conferring susceptibility to NIDDM in ethnically defined populations at high risk of NIDDM. These populations may provide a unique opportunity to identify specific genes involved in the complex etiology of NIDDM. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Social class differences in rates of premature mortality among adults in the city of Wrocław, Poland
Authors: Brajczewski Czesław , Rogucka Elżbieta
Published: June 2005

Mortality rates among adult men and women, inhabitants of the city of Wrocław, were studied within 5‐year age classes between 20 and 64 years of age relative to two social variables: education and marital status of the deceased. Age‐ and sex‐specific mortality rates reveal a systematic social gradient. They are highest among persons with primary or “basic vocational” school education, lower among those with secondary school education, and lowest among those with college education. This gradient consistently appears in each of the age classes of males and females, although it is more pronounced among males. In both sexes, married persons have lower rates of mortality than those who have never married or were divorced or widowed. Among females, marital status appears to have a stronger effect on age‐specific rates of mortality than educational status; the reverse is the case among males. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Menarcheal status and bone development in Guatemalan girls
Authors: Himes John H. , Huang Zhiping
Published: June 2005

Premenarcheal and postmenarcheal girls of the same chronological ages (11.5–15.5 years) and from the same villages in Guatemala differ significantly in patterns and mean levels of several measures of bone development. Stature, metacarpal dimensions, bone mineral content and bone mineral density from single photon absorptiometry, and total alkaline phosphatase activity are significantly associated with menarcheal status. Controlling for chronological age, there is significant variation in bone development associated with variation in menarcheal status. Unequivocal presentation and analyses of bone development in adolescent girls require that menarcheal status or another adequate measure of maturation be considered. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effects of training on body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution in women gymnasts
Authors: Ramirez Maria E. , Heinrich Katherine K.
Published: June 2005

Repeated measurements of body composition and subcutaneous fat distribution were obtained in female gymnasts to test the hypothesis of a selective response from localized fat deposits to intense physical training. Repeated measurements were obtained on the members of three nationally ranked collegiate gymnastic teams: at the beginning and peak of the training season. The highest ranked team was measured a third time, three weeks after the end of the competitive season. Body composition was estimated using anthropometry and bioelectric impedance; subcutaneous fat thickness was measured using skinfold calipers and ultrasound images of adipose tissue thickness (ATT). The mean difference between baseline and peak measurements were statistically significant (P ⩽ .05) for the triceps and suprailiac skinfolds, and for the adipose tissue thickness at the suprailiac and hypogastric sites. There were no significant changes in weight, percentage of body fat, circumferences, or subcutaneous fat thickness at the subscapular, calf or medial thigh sites. In the team with three sets of measurements, only the triceps skinfold and the suprailiac ATT showed a statistically significant effect of training. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of serial growth data
Authors: Johnson Michael L.
Published: June 2005

Human growth has been described qualitatively by several different mathematical formulations that have concentrated on the form of the central tendency and have largely neglected analysis of any short duration components of the experimental observations. The present work presents a mathematical model of human growth that aims to describe both the fluctuations of short duration as well as the central tendency as a series of discrete growth episodes. This Saltatory Model of growth provides a better quantitative description of human growth than the more traditional models and suggests that human growth is not a smooth continuous process, but is a series of intermittent, nonperiodic saltations. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Unequal adaptive value of changing cigarette use during pregnancy for heavy, moderate, and light smokers
Authors: Schell Lawrence M. , Relethford John H. , Madan Mamta , Naamon Paul B. N. , Hook Ernest B.
Published: June 2005

To determine the effects of changes in maternal cigarette use during pregnancy on birthweight, a sample of Caucasian births free of major malformations (n = 9,943) was examined. Births were stratified by level of maternal smoking in the first trimester and subdivided according to whether the mother continued at the same level, reduced, or quit by the second trimester. Birthweights were adjusted statistically for extraneous variables. As expected, second and third trimester cigarette use was associated with birthweight, but so too was cigarette use during the first trimester, and the effect of quitting varied significantly with the level of first trimester smoking. Among moderate and light smokers, who comprise the majority of smokers, quitting before the second trimester is associated with heavier infants. However, infants of heavy smokers who quit by the second trimester did not weigh significantly more than infants of mothers who continued to smoke heavily throughout pregnancy, and weighed significantly less than infants of nonsmokers or other smokers who quit. Thus, quitting by the end of the first trimester may not completely negate the effect of heavy first trimester smoking, and the adaptive value of qutting is unequal among different levels of first trimester smoking. Further research on prenatal growth should take cigarette smoking in all trimesters into account. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Somatotype related to centripetal fat patterning of 8‐ to 19‐year‐old Basque boys and girls
Authors: Rosique Javier , Rebato Esther , Apraiz Arantza Gonzalez , Pacheco Jose Luis
Published: June 2005

The association between fat distribution and Heath‐Carter anthropometric somatotypes was studied in a sample of Basque children and youth aged 8–19 years. About mid‐adolescence, mean somatotype of Basque males changed, diminishing in endomorphy and mesomorphy, and increasing slightly in ectomorphy. For the same period, reduced mesomorphy was the most striking change in the female mean somatotype; meanwhile, there was an increase in endomorphy and a decrease in ectomorphy. Two groups of fat distribution were identified: centripetal and peripheral. Centripetal fat increased with age in both sexes. Fat distribution groups showed the following characteristics: a) mean somatotypes of centripetal and peripheral subjects were significantly different; b) centripetal boys and girls were extreme endomorphs prior to adolescent somatotype change; c) centripetal girls showed high ratings of endomorphy after adolescence; d) mesomorphy was related to a centripetal fat distribution pattern in both sexes; e) using the BMI as a criterion of obesity, only 16.3% of centripetal males and 21.8% of centripetal females were classified as obese; f) obesity was absent among subjects with a peripheral pattern, except for one male showing an endomorphic‐mesomorph somatotype; h) the obese showed extreme somatotypes with high endomorphy and mesomorphy, and minimal ectomorphy. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Twinning rates in admixed Costa Rican populations
Authors: Madrigal L.
Published: June 2005

The frequency of twinning in two admixed Costa Rican groups of women from the Limón province was investigated. One group was self‐classified as Black, and the other group was self‐classified as White. The twinning rate for each group was computed as the number of twin maternities divided by the total number of confinements multiplied by 1,000. Both groups have virtually identical twinning rates, even though Black subjects were expected to have higher rates than White women. The twinning rate of both groups is higher than that in other New World admixed Black groups. This is particularly surprising for White females, whose European ancestral population is largely from Spain, the European country with the lowest twinning rate. The virtually identical twinning rate is probably a result of the highly frequent gene flow between Blacks and Whites in the population. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.