Malnutrition, body size and proportion

A number of published and unpublished collections of data on stature, weight, and sitting height are compared with the data collected in Heliconia, Colombia, an area of known protein deficiency. The degree of sexual dimorphism for body size within populations is compared across populations. The relative proportion of sitting height to stature is compared for the Heliconia, U.S., and Nuñoa, Peru populations. In these comparisons, it is found that body proportions and sexual dimorphism are relatively constant in various parts of the world, but that this constancy is maintained by differential growth rates in males and females, with males growing more slowly but for a longer period of time under stress. The probable influence of other factors, including sociological and psychological ones is pointed out, as is the possible role of selection producing some genetic differences in body size.