Secular Trends in Adult and Child Anthropometry in Four Guatemalan Villages

Abstract

Secular trends in the stature and head circumference of adults born between 1905 and 1959 and in the length of three-year-old children born between 1965 and 1985 from four villages of eastern Guatemala are analysed. Data were collected before (1968), during (1969–1977), and after (1988) a longitudinal protein-energy supplementation trial conducted in the four villages. No secular trends are observed in the age-adjusted height or the head circumference of the adults studied; similar results are obtained whether a longitudinal or a cross-sectional method is used to correct height for the effects of ageing. A positive and significant linear trend is observed in the length of the three-year-olds. The estimated increase of 2.5–3.3 cm seen over this 20-year period represents only approximately 27% of the total deficit in length seen in these children in 1968 (11 cm).