SECULAR CHANGES IN STATURE AND BIACROMIAL AND BICRISTAL DIAMETERS OF YOUNG-ADULT SPANISH MALES

Measurements of stature and biacromial and bicristal diameters were ob tained for two samples of young adult male university students, one fr om 1901 to 1919 and the other from 1989 to 1991. Means and standard de viations were calculated for each measurement and for three indices. S ignificant positive trends in stature and biacromial and bicristal dia meters 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 c ompared with other Spanish samples from the beginning of the century t o the present. These comparisons also showed positive secular changes, although the differences among samples may have been conditioned by r egional 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 tre nd in body dimensions, and this can be related to the improvement in l iving conditions in Spain, especially during the last 40 years. (C) 19 93 Wiley-Liss, inc.