The Washington times., 1922-03-05
COLLEGE GIRLS !
WIDER, TALLER
AND WE|GH:T|ER'
interesting Statistics at vassar
Show Waists Are Not
Slender as They We're.
WANE OF CORSET. CAUSE.
Another Is Increased interest
In Sports-SimiIar Data.
".. Elsewhere.

In Sports-SimiIar Data.
49,, Elsewhere.
POUGHKEEPSIE. N. Y, March
l-If, despite appearances, the
nut-brown maiden still has a slen-
der waist, 1t Is not SO slender as 1t
was 20 years ago. At least, that Is
true of girls who have entered Vas
sar College since 1904, II statistics
arc to.be trusted. They are wider,
taller and heavier"
Measured 7.077 Girls.
The waist measurements. as wen
a. other dimensions, OF 7.077 Vassar
freshmen. have recently been exam
ined, collected and tabulated by Q
class In statistics of the Economics
Department, and the results sent to
the American Statistical Association
for publication. The period covered
10 thirty-six years. from 1884 to 1920.
During that time the average
freshman has gained an inch and q
third In height, about six and half
pounds In weight, and nearly two
inches in "gtrth Of waist" Yet the
entrance age has remained close to
10 years.
."of course" the vassar freshman
have been out of style for ever SO
long"
Waist Lines Larger.
AZ q matter Of tact, that IL one Of
the explanations suggested IN the
report Of the physical development
investigation, written. by Mabel
Newcomer.
''The change In the type Of clothing
worn. together with the increase in
weight. readily account for the re-
cent increase" she writes.
Tho gains in height and weight
have been remarkably steady since
the first records were taken. Not SO
the increase In waist measure. From
1884 to 1904 there was an almost
constant decrease despite the con.
slant gain In the average weight
and height.
1.-THE only explanation which sus.
sests ITSELF" says tho report" II
that the earliest typo of college
woman was less subservient to fash
ions than those during the later
years. when higher education of
women had become moro wide
spread
Having been emancipated from
tight corsets, tho recent classes Of
freshmen at Vassar have gained in
average lung capacity as well as In
waist measure. Another plausible
explanation Of this Ia the increase
IN athletic sports for girls, which
would also account for the general
advance in physical development.
Influence Of Sporta-
On this point the published statis-
t5cs are impressive During the
years from 1855 To Lee. when waists
oramped, more than one-fourth Of
sports. During 1sle-2o only ak girls
n q thousand 90 reported. Tho
average number OF sports increased
from 20 to s.2, and the maximum
number Of sports reported by any
one student rose from sdSht to sev-
snteen.
During the period covered By thess
statistics there has been no tmpor-
tAnt change In tho racial character
81 the girls entering Vassar; no
great change In the geographical
distribution Of thdr homes. Nearly
spShaH Of them ooms from the
Mid1s Atlantic States; about one
NTH from New EnSiand. and the rest
from scattered parts. Tho great ma
tority came from old American stock.
Investigations at Stanford Univer-
Sly and smith College - to the
averAes physical Development d
s1rls entering college have gwen
dmilar results, both a. 70 height
and wdSht