Measurements of stature and biacromial and bicristal diameters were obtained for two samples of young adult male university students, one from 1901 to 1919 and the other from 1989 to 1991. Means and standard deviations were calculated for each measurement and for three indices. Significant positive trends in stature and biacromial and bicristal diameters were apparent between the two samples: 7.3 cm (4.4%), 3.6 cm (9.9%), and 3.4 cm (12.5%), respectively. The results for stature were compared with other Spanish samples from the beginning of the century to the present. These comparisons also showed positive secular changes, although the differences among samples may have been conditioned by regional variations in socioeconomic conditions, industrialization, and so on, all of which complicate the interpretation of the magnitude of changes in Spain. In summary, the results show a positive secular trend in body dimensions, and this can be related to the improvement in living conditions in Spain, especially during the last 40 years. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Copyright © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc., A Wiley Company.