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Trends of adult height in India from 1998 to 2015: Evidence from the National Family and Health Survey
- Source :
- PLoS ONE, PLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 9, p e0255676 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- Public Library of Science, 2021.
-
Abstract
- Aim The aim of the study is to investigate the trends in adult height between two consecutive surveys of NHFS and explore differences across variables such as gender, wealth, social groups etc. Methods We used the NFHS-II (1998–99), NFHS–III (2005–2006) and NFHS-IV (2015–16) (all three for women and last two for men) data to examine the trends in average height. Comparison was done between the two age strata of 15–25 and 26–50 years, across both male and female, to assess the trends. Results Between NFHS-III and NFHS-IV, the average height of women in the age group of 15–25 showed a decline by 0.12 cm [95% CI, -0.24 to 0.00, p-0.051] while in the 26–50 years age strata it demonstrated significant improvement in the mean height by 0.13 cm [95% CI, 0.02 to 0.023, p-0.015]. However, Between NFHS III and IV, the average height of women in the poorest wealth index category registered a significant decline [-0.57cm, 95% CI, -076 to -0.37, p-0.000]. Between NFHS III and IV, the average height of Scheduled Tribe (ST) women in the age group of 15–25 years also exhibited a significant decline by 0.42 cm, [95% CI, -0.73 to -0.12, p-0.007]. Among men, between the two surveys, both the age groups of 15–25 years and 26–50 years showed significant decline in average height: 1.10 cm [95% CI, -1.31 to -.099 cm, p-0.00] and 0.86 cm [95% CI, -1.03 to -0.69, p-0.000], respectively. Conclusion In the context of an overall increase in average heights worldwide the decline in average height of adults in India is alarming and demands an urgent enquiry. The argument for different standards of height for Indian population as different genetic group needs further scrutiny. However, the trends from India clearly underline the need to examine the non-genetic factors also to understand the interplay of genetic, nutritional and other social and environmental determinants on height.
- Subjects :
- Male
Surveys
Geographical Locations
Families
Tribe
Medicine and Health Sciences
Medicine
Children
Growth Disorders
Multidisciplinary
Indian population
Middle Aged
Adult height
Research Design
Female
Research Article
Adult
Asia
Adolescent
Science
India
Nutritional Status
Context (language use)
Environment
Research and Analysis Methods
Young Adult
Age groups
Genetics
Adults
Humans
Nutrition
Evolutionary Biology
Survey Research
Population Biology
business.industry
Biology and Life Sciences
Human Genetics
Wealth index
Health Surveys
Body Height
Socioeconomic Factors
Age Groups
People and Places
Health survey
Population Groupings
business
Population Genetics
Demography
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 19326203
- Volume :
- 16
- Issue :
- 9
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PLoS ONE
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....1ee086568ae8ff8e765a657cdf092155