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The BMI values of the lower classes likely declined during the Great Depression

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  • Komlos, John
  • Carson, Scott

Abstract

The BMI values of inmates in the McNeil Island Penitentiary in Washington State declined between the 1860s and the 1910s birth cohorts by 1.44. Furthermore, those who were imprisoned in the 1930s had significantly lower BMI values (by between 0.72 and 1.01) than those who were incarcerated at the end of the 19th century. This corresponds to a decrease in weight of some 2.25 kg (4.95 lbs) for a man of average height of 173.86 cm (68.5 inches). The diminution in nutritional status among this lower-class sample is hardly surprising, given the high level of unemployment at the time but has not been verified until now. In marked contrast, the BMI values of Citadel cadets increased by 1.5 units in the 1930s. This divergence in BMI values is most likely due to the different social status, to the different regional origins of the two samples or to both.

Suggested Citation

  • Komlos, John & Carson, Scott, 2017. "The BMI values of the lower classes likely declined during the Great Depression," Munich Reprints in Economics 49917, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:49917
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    1. Scott Carson, 2015. "A Weighty Issue: Diminished Net Nutrition Among the U.S. Working Class in the Nineteenth Century," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(3), pages 945-966, June.
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    6. Carson, Scott Alan, 2011. "Height of female Americans in the 19th century and the antebellum puzzle," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 157-164, March.
    7. John Komlos & Marek Brabec, 2010. "The Trend of Mean BMI Values of US Adults, Birth Cohorts 1882-1986 Indicates that the Obesity Epidemic Began Earlier than Hitherto Thought," NBER Working Papers 15862, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    9. Carson, Scott Alan, 2009. "Racial differences in body mass indices of men imprisoned in 19th Century Texas," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 121-127, March.
    10. Scott Carson, 2012. "Nineteenth century stature and family size: binding constraint or productive labor force?," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 39-52, March.
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    13. 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.
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    Cited by:

    1. John Cranfield & Kris Inwood & Les Oxley & Evan Roberts, 2017. "Long-Run Changes in the Body Mass Index of Adults in Three Food-Abundant Settler Societies: Australia, Canada and New Zealand," Working Papers in Economics 17/15, University of Waikato.
    2. Scott A. Carson, 2020. "Biological Differences between Late 19th and Early 20th Century Urban and Rural Residence," CESifo Working Paper Series 8523, CESifo.
    3. Scott Alan Carson & Scott A. Carson, 2022. "Nineteenth and Early 20th Century Physical Activity and Calories by Gender and Race," CESifo Working Paper Series 10140, CESifo.
    4. Scott A. Carson, 2021. "Omitting the Obvious: Cohort Effects in 19th and 20th Century BMI Variation," CESifo Working Paper Series 8817, CESifo.
    5. Scott Alan Carson, 2023. "Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Social Feminism and Women’s Suffrage: A Female–Male Net Nutrition Comparison using Differences- in-decompositions," Journal of Interdisciplinary Economics, , vol. 35(2), pages 191-215, July.
    6. Trüb, Fabienne P & Wells, Jonathan CK & Rühli, Frank J & Staub, Kaspar & Floris, Joël, 2020. "Filling the weight gap: Estimating body weight and BMI using height, chest and upper arm circumference of Swiss conscripts in the first half of the 20th century," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    7. Scott A. Carson, 2019. "A Female-Male Net Nutrition Comparison Using Differences-in-Decompositions: Late 19th and Early 20th Century Social Feminism and Women's Suffrage," CESifo Working Paper Series 8037, CESifo.
    8. Scott Alan Carson, 2018. "Black and white female body mass index values in the developing late 19th and early 20th century United States," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 309-330, October.
    9. Scott A. Carson, 2018. "In Support of the Turner Hypothesis for the 19th Century American West: A Biological Response to Recent Criticisms," CESifo Working Paper Series 6969, CESifo.
    10. Scott Alan Carson & Scott A. Carson, 2024. "A Post Bellum Paradox: Net Nutrition Variation by Socioeconomic Status, Gender and Race in the Late 19th Century," CESifo Working Paper Series 10899, CESifo.
    11. Scott A. Carson, 2017. "Late 19th and Early 20th Century Native and Immigrant Body Mass Index Values," CESifo Working Paper Series 6771, CESifo.
    12. Scott A. Carson, 2020. "Body Mass, Nutrition, and Disease: Current Net Nutrition during US Economic Development," CESifo Working Paper Series 8464, CESifo.
    13. Scott A. Carson, 2018. "The 19th Centure Net Nutrition Transition from Free to Bound Labor: A Difference-in-Decompositions Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 6932, CESifo.
    14. Scott A. Carson, 2021. "Nineteenth Century Body Mass, Height, and Weight: Inequality across Quantiles," CESifo Working Paper Series 9135, CESifo.
    15. Scott A. Carson, 2021. "The Changing Antebellum Period through Early 20th Century Net Nutrition between Male and Females: A Difference-In-Decompositions within and across Group Comparison," CESifo Working Paper Series 9402, CESifo.
    16. Carson, Scott Alan, 2019. "Late 19th, early 20th century US, foreign-born body mass index values in the United States," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 26-38.
    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. Scott A. Carson, 2022. "Female and Male Calories Across the 19th and Early 20th Century Distributions Using Quantile Regression," CESifo Working Paper Series 10051, CESifo.
    19. Scott A. Carson, 2019. "Body weight and United States economic development, 1840-1940," CESifo Working Paper Series 7573, CESifo.
    20. Scott A. Carson, 2021. "International Migration and Net Nutrition in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries: Evidence from Prison Records," CESifo Working Paper Series 9411, CESifo.
    21. Scott A. Carson, 2019. "Changing Current Net Nutrition with Weight as a Measure of Net Nutritional Change with the Transition from Bound to Free Labor: A Difference-in-Decompositions Approach," CESifo Working Paper Series 7502, CESifo.
    22. Manel Antelo & Pilar Magdalena & Juan C. Reboredo & Francisco Reyes-Santias, 2020. "How Are Unemployed Individuals with Obesity Affected by an Economic Crisis?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-17, March.
    23. 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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    JEL classification:

    • N10 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - General, International, or Comparative
    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General

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