Why are Mexican American boys so much taller now?

Using NHANES data we find that the difference in average height between non-Hispanic White and Mexican American boys of ages 2–14 years has decreased 1.7 cm on average during the last quarter of the twentieth century in the United States. Our hypothesis is that the narrowing of the height gap is rel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Economics and human biology 2010-07, Vol.8 (2), p.212-222
Main Authors: Delajara, Marcelo, Rodríguez-Segura, Melissa
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acculturation
Adolescent
Body Height - ethnology
Child
Child, Preschool
Cross-Cultural Comparison
Emigrants and Immigrants - statistics & numerical data
European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data
Female
Height trends
Height trends United States Non-Hispanic Whites Mexican Americans
Humans
Male
Mexican Americans
Mexican Americans - statistics & numerical data
Mothers - statistics & numerical data
Non-Hispanic Whites
Nutrition Surveys
Sex Factors
Socioeconomic Factors
United States
United States - epidemiology
Young Adult
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Summary:Using NHANES data we find that the difference in average height between non-Hispanic White and Mexican American boys of ages 2–14 years has decreased 1.7 cm on average during the last quarter of the twentieth century in the United States. Our hypothesis is that the narrowing of the height gap is related to a larger gain in maternal height among Mexican Americans in relation to Whites. We estimate a child's height equation and find that on average about 38% of the reduction in the gap for boys of ages 2–5 years is attributed to this factor. The evidence of a secular trend for height is weak for the case of girls.
ISSN:1570-677X
1873-6130
DOI:10.1016/j.ehb.2010.05.007