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The height and BMI values of West Point cadets after the Civil War

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  • Hiermeyer, Martin

Abstract

West Point cadets born in the 1880s were taller (+1.46Â cm) than those born in the 1860s and had significantly higher BMI values (+0.85). However, the cadets were on average undernourished by modern standards, with today's average reference values being about 5 BMI units higher than those of the cadets. Substantial regional differences existed for both height and weight. While West Point cadets born in the 1880s in the Upper South achieved on average a height of 173.2Â cm and a BMI of 21.0, their peers from New England were 171.5Â cm tall with a BMI of 21.6.

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  • Hiermeyer, Martin, 2010. "The height and BMI values of West Point cadets after the Civil War," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 127-133, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:8:y:2010:i:1:p:127-133
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    3. O’Neill, Donal, 2015. "Measuring obesity in the absence of a gold standard," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 116-128.
    4. Brian A'Hearn & John Komlos, 2015. "The Decline in the Nutritional Status of the U.S. Antebellum Population at the Onset of Modern Economic Growth," CESifo Working Paper Series 5691, CESifo.
    5. Komlos, John & Brabec, Marek, 2011. "The trend of BMI values of US adults by deciles, birth cohorts 1882-1986 stratified by gender and ethnicity," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 234-250, July.

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