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Document Type

Article

Abstract

The effects of 3 socio-economic factors on variation in body height was studied by analysis of variance in an ethnically homogenous sample of 12711 Polish conscripts born in 1957 and examined in 1976. The factors were: A. Number of inhabitants in the locality of the conscript’s habitation, B. Occupational-educational status of the father, and C. Number of the conscript’s sibs. Each factor was scored on a 6-level scale. Stature was found to decrease monotonically with decreasing number of inhabitants, decreasing status of father, and increasing sibship size. Each factor has a significant effect on height after the influence of the other two is partialled out. Factor B has the strongest effect, Factor C an intermediate, and Factor A the weakest effect. The effects are additive. An attempt is made to interprete the mode of action of each factor in terms of its impact on living standards, primarily on nutrition. The general picture which emerges from the analysis is one of marked socio-economic stratification. Attention is drawn to the particularly low position of peasants.

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