Secular changes in anthropometric measurements of schoolchildren in Ankara, Turkey (1950–2017)

• Published in: Papers on anthropology Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 121 - 139
• Main Authors: Özer, Başak Koca, Özdemir, Ayşegül
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 14.07.2020
• ISSN: 1406-0140; 1736-7646
• DOI: 10.12697/poa.2020.29.1.09

This study aimed to examine the physical growth of Turkish children and determine secular changes in their height and other anthropometric measurements since 1950. For this purpose, three cross-sectional surveys of a total of 4,902 healthy schoolchildren from Ankara (2,490 boys and 2,412 girls) between the ages of 6 and 17 years conducted in 1950, 2005 and 2017 were studied. Body height and sitting height were measured, centile curves were constructed using the LMS method, and sitting height/height ratio was calculated. The results of this study demonstrated positive secular changes in height and sitting height. The increasing rate of height for boys was approximately 2.5 cm/decade for their respective pubertal ages, whereas for girls, the rate was approximately 1.9 cm/decade at ages 9, 10 and 12; however, at the age of 11, the increment in girls was over 2 cm/decade. Data sets presented sexual differences at most ages, arising due to a difference in response to environmental and socio-economic conditions. However, due to the socio-economic fluctuations in Turkey, secular increase was not comparable to the increase experienced within developed countries; therefore a continuation of this secular increase can be expected in the near future.