Anthropometric parameters of schoolchildren with different life-styles
J. Sabate, K. D. Lindsted, R. D. Harris and P. K. Johnston
Department of Epidemiology, Loma Linda University, CA 92350.
Height and weight data obtained from a 2-year longitudinal survey were
analyzed for 2272 children aged 6 through 18 years who were attending
public schools or Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) schools in southern
California. The SDAs do not use alcohol or tobacco, and many adhere to a
lacto-ovovegetarian diet. For both sexes, in each school group, the mean
height and weight were at or above national reference values. Age-adjusted
regression analysis showed that SDA school-boys were 1.6 cm taller than
public schoolboys. There were no significant differences in height for
girls. After controlling for height, boys and girls in the SDA schools were
found to be leaner than their public school peers, ie, 1.27 and 1.16 kg,
respectively. These results suggest that a health-oriented life-style in
childhood and adolescence, such as the one followed by SDAs, is compatible
with adequate growth and associated with a lower weight for height.
