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Standards of the Present for People of the Past: Height, Weight, and Mortality among Men of Amherst College, 1834–1949

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  • Murray, John E.

Abstract

Whether anthropometric-mortality risk relationships as found in present day populations also characterized past populations is disputed. This article finds U-shaped body mass index (BMI)-mortality risk relationships among nineteenth-century men that were similar to such relationships as found in twentieth-century men. No relationship between height and mortality could be detected. This article infers from the socioeconomic homogeneity of the sample that the BMI-mortality risk relationship, although apparently invariant with respect to time, is driven by noneconomic factors.

Suggested Citation

  • Murray, John E., 1997. "Standards of the Present for People of the Past: Height, Weight, and Mortality among Men of Amherst College, 1834–1949," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 57(3), pages 585-606, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:57:y:1997:i:03:p:585-606_11
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    Cited by:

    1. John Murray, 2000. "Marital protection and marital selection: Evidence from a historical-prospective sample of American men," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(4), pages 511-521, November.
    2. Bodenhorn, Howard, 2010. "Height and body mass index values of nineteenth-century New York legislators," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 121-126, March.
    3. Steckel, Richard H., 2009. "Heights and human welfare: Recent developments and new directions," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 1-23, January.
    4. Cranfield, John & Inwood, Kris, 2007. "The great transformation: A long-run perspective on physical well-being in Canada," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 204-228, July.
    5. Inwood, Kris & Oxley, Les & Roberts, Evan, 2022. "The mortality risk of being overweight in the twentieth century: Evidence from two cohorts of New Zealand men," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    6. Sunder, Marco, 2013. "The height gap in 19th-century America: Net-nutritional advantage of the elite increased at the onset of modern economic growth," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 245-258.
    7. Komlos, John & Coclanis, Peter, 1997. "On the Puzzling Cycle in the Biological Standard of Living: The Case of Antebellum Georgia," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 433-459, October.
    8. Bodenhorn, Howard & Guinnane, Timothy W. & Mroz, Thomas A., 2013. "Problems of Sample-Selection Bias in the Historical Heights Literature: A Theoretical and Econometric Analysis," Working Papers 114, Yale University, Department of Economics.
    9. Carslake, David & Fraser, Abigail & Davey Smith, George & May, Margaret & Palmer, Tom & Sterne, Jonathan & Silventoinen, Karri & Tynelius, Per & Lawlor, Debbie A. & Rasmussen, Finn, 2013. "Associations of mortality with own height using son's height as an instrumental variable," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 351-359.
    10. Scott A. Carson, 2020. "Body Mass, Nutrition, and Disease: Current Net Nutrition during US Economic Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 8464, CESifo.
    11. Coppola, Michela, 2013. "The biological standard of living and mortality in Central Italy at the beginning of the 19th century," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 453-464.
    12. Scott A. Carson, 2011. "Demographic, Residential, and Socioeconomic Effects on the Distribution of 19th Century White Body Mass Index Values," CESifo Working Paper Series 3383, CESifo.
    13. Jörg Baten, 2002. "Did Partial Globalization Increase Inequality? Did Inequality Stimulate Globalization Backlash? The case of the Latin American Periphery, 1950-80," CESifo Working Paper Series 683, CESifo.
    14. Blum, Matthias & McLaughlin, Eoin, 2019. "Living standards and inequality in the industrial revolution: Evidence from the height of University of Edinburgh students in the 1830s," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 185-192.
    15. Su, Dejun, 2009. "Occupational career and risk of mortality among US Civil War Veterans," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 460-468, August.
    16. Marco Breschi & Matteo Manfredini & Stanislao Mazzoni, 2010. "Health and socio-demographic conditions as determinants of marriage and social mobility," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 22(33), pages 1037-1056.
    17. Scott A. Carson, 2020. "Female and Male Body Mass, Height, and Weight during US Economic Development: 1860s-1930s," CESifo Working Paper Series 8447, CESifo.
    18. Howard Bodenhorn & Timothy Guinnane & Thomas Mroz, 2014. "Caveat Lector: Sample Selection in Historical Heights and the Interpretation of Early Industrializing Economies," NBER Working Papers 19955, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Sunder, Marco, 2005. "Toward generation XL: Anthropometrics of longevity in late 20th-century United States," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 3(2), pages 271-295, July.
    20. Scott Alan Carson, 2022. "Body mass, nutrition, and disease: nineteenth century current net nutrition during economic development," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 37-65, April.

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