@article{SchefflerNguyenHermanussen2021, author = {Scheffler, Christiane and Nguyen, Thi Hong and Hermanussen, Michael}, title = {Vietnamese migrants are as tall as they want to be}, series = {Human biology and public health}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {2}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph.v2.12}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Background: Members of the same social group tent to have the same body height. Migrants tend to adjust in height to their host communities. Objectives: Social-Economic-Political-Emotional (SEPE) factors influence growth. We hypothesized that Vietnamese young adult migrants in Germany (1) are taller than their parents, (2) are as tall as their German peers, and (3) are as tall as predicted by height expectation at age 13 years. Sample: The study was conducted in 30 male and 54 female Vietnamese migrants (mean age 26.23 years. SD=4.96) in Germany in 2020. Methods: Information on age, sex, body height, school and education, job, height and ethnicity of best friend, migration history and cultural identification, parental height and education, and recalled information on their personal height expectations at age 13 years were obtained by questionnaire. The data were analyzed by St. Nicolas House Analysis (SNHA) and multiple regression. Results: Vietnamese young adults are taller than their parents (females 3.85cm, males 7.44cm), but do not fully attain height of their German peers. The body height is positively associated with the height of best friend (p < 0.001), the height expectation at age 13 year (p < 0.001), and father's height (p=0.001). Conclusion: Body height of Vietnamese migrants in Germany reflects competitive growth and strategic growth adjustments. The magnitude of this intergenerational trend supports the concept that human growth depends on SEPE factors.}, language = {en} } @article{BentsGrothSatake2018, author = {Bents, Dominik and Groth, Detlef and Satake, Takashi}, title = {The secular trend and network effects on height of male Japanese students from 1955 to 2015}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology}, volume = {74}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2018/0838}, pages = {423 -- 429}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Introduction: Body height is influenced by biological factors such as genetics, nutrition and health, but also by the social network, and environmental and economical factors. During centuries, the Japanese society has developed on islands. This setting provides ideal natural conditions for studying the influence of social networks on human height. Material and methods: We investigated body height of male Japanese students aged 17.5 years obtained in 47 prefectures, from the Japanese school health survey of the years 1955, 1975, 1995, and 2015. Results: Japanese students increased in height from 163.23 cm in 1955 to 170.84 cm in 1995, with no further increase thereafter (170.63 cm in 2015). Students living in neighboring prefectures were similar in height. The correlation of height between neighboring prefectures ranged between r = 0.79 and r = 0.49 among first degree neighbors, between r = 0.49 and r = 0.21 among second degree neighbors and dropped to insignificance among third degree neighbors indicating psychosocial effects of the community on body height. Tall stature and short stature prefectures did not remain tall or short throughout history. Autocorrelations of height within the same prefectures decreased from the 20 years periods of 1955-1975, 1975-1995 and 1995-2015 (r = 0.52, r = 0.61, r = 0.63, respectively) to the 40 years periods of 1955-1995 and 1975-2015 (r = 0.49, r = 0.52), down to the 60 years period of 1955-2015 (r = 0.27), indicating significant volatility of height. Conclusion: Body height of 17.5 years old Japanese students increased since 1955. Body height depended on height of the neighboring prefecture, but was volatile with decreasing autocorrelation during a period of 60 years.}, language = {en} } @article{LebedevaGrothHermanussenetal.2019, author = {Lebedeva, Lidia and Groth, Detlef and Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane and Godina, Elena}, title = {The network effects on conscripts' height in the central provinces of Russian empire in the middle of XIX century}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {76}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2019/0984}, pages = {371 -- 377}, year = {2019}, abstract = {Background: We investigated average body height in the central provinces of the Russian empire in the middle of XIX century in view of the concept of "community effects on height". We analyzed body height correlations between neighboring districts at this time. We added information about secular changes in body height during the 19th century of this territory. Material and methods: The study used height data of conscripts, which were born in the years 1853-1863, and age 21 at the time of measurement. The territory of seven provinces was considered as a network with 105 nodes, each node representing one district with information on average male body height. In order to define neighboring districts three different approaches were used: based on the "common borders" method, based on Euclidean distances (from 60 to 120 km), based on real road connections. Results: Small but significant correlation coefficients were observed between 1st order districts in the network based on Euclidean distance of 100 km (r = 0.256, p-value = 0.006) and based on "the common borders" approach (r = 0.25, p-value = 0.02). Wherein no significant correlations were observed in the network based on road connections and between second order neighbors regardless of the method. Conclusion: Height correlation coefficients between 1st order neighboring districts observed in the Russian districts were very similar to values observed in the Polish study (r = 0.24). The considered Russian territory and the territory of Poland have a lot in common. They consist of both plains without mountains. In contradistinction to Poland the transport infrastructure in Russia was weakly developed in the middle of XIX century. In addition, the mobility of people was limited by serfdom. In this context the absent of significant correlation of second order neighbors can be explained by low population density and lack of migration and communication between the districts.}, language = {en} } @article{HermanussenAltStaubetal.2014, author = {Hermanussen, Michael and Alt, Christoph and Staub, Kaspar and Aßmann, Christian and Groth, Detlef}, title = {The impact of physical connectedness on body height in Swiss conscripts}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {71}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {4}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/0003-5548/2014/0466}, pages = {313 -- 327}, year = {2014}, abstract = {Background: Human populations differ in height. Recent evidence suggests that social networks play an important role in the regulation of adolescent growth and adult height. We further investigated the effect of physical connectedness on height. Material and methods: We considered Switzerland as a geographic network with 169 nodes (district capitals) and 335 edges (connecting roads) and studied effects of connectedness on height in Swiss conscript from 1884-1891, 1908-1910, and 2004-2009. We also created exponential-family random graph models to separate possible unspecific effects of geographic vicinity. Results: In 1884-1891, in 1908-1910, and in 2004-2009, 1st, 2nd and 3rd order neighboring districts significantly correlate in height (p<0.01). The correlations depend on the order of connectedness, they decline with increasing distance. Short stature districts tend to have short, tall stature districts tend to have tall neighbors. Random network analyses suggest direct road effects on height. Whereas in 1884-1891, direct road effects were only visible between 1st order neighbors, direct road effects extended to 2nd and 3rd in 1908-1910, and in 2004-2009, also to 4th order neighbors, and might reflect historic improvements in transportation. The spatial correlations did not significantly change when height was controlled for goiter (1884-1889) and for median per capita income (2006), suggesting direct road effects also in goiter-allowed-for height and income-allowed-for height. Conclusion: Height in a district depends on height of physically connected neighboring districts. The association decreases with increasing distance in the net. The present data suggest that people can be short because their neighbors are short; or tall because their neighbors are tall (community effect on growth). Psycho-biological effects seem to control growth and development within communities that go far beyond our current understanding of growth regulation.}, language = {en} } @article{GomulaKozielGrothetal.2017, author = {Gomula, Aleksandra and Koziel, Slawomir and Groth, Detlef and Bielicki, Tadeusz}, title = {The effect of neighboring districts on body height of Polish conscripts}, series = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {74}, journal = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {1}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2017/0701}, pages = {71 -- 76}, year = {2017}, abstract = {The aim of the study was to investigate the correlation of heights of conscripts living in neighboring districts in Poland. The study used 10\% of a nationally representative sample of 26,178 males 18.5-19.5 years old examined during the National survey of Polish conscripts conducted in 2001. The sample represented all regions and social strata of the country and included 354 different districts within 16 voivodships (provinces). Analyses were performed with the R statistical software. A small but significant correlation (0.24, p < 0.0001) was observed for height between 1st order neighboring districts. Correlations decreased with increased distances between neighboring districts, but remained significant for 7th node neighbors (0.18, p < 0.0001). Regarding voivodships (provinces), average height showed a geographical trend from the northwest (relatively tall) to the southeast (relatively short), and the correlation was stronger for first order neighboring provinces (0.796, p < 0.001). This study revealed clusters of tall people and short people, providing a support for hypothesis of the community effect in height. Small correlations between 1st order neighbors than in another country (Switzerland) may be associated with differences in geography, since in Poland there are no natural barriers (e.g., mountains) and road infrastructure is well-developed.}, language = {en} } @phdthesis{Scheffler2018, author = {Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Studies on plasticity within the universal pattern of growth and developmet of children and adolescents}, school = {Universit{\"a}t Potsdam}, pages = {207}, year = {2018}, abstract = {The anatomically modern human Homo sapiens sapiens is distinguished by a high adaptability in physiology, physique and behaviour in short term changing environmental conditions. Since our environmental factors are constantly changing because of anthropogenic influences, the question arises as to how far we have an impact on the human phenotype in the very sensitive growth phase in children and adolescents. Growth and development of all children and adolescents follow a universal and typical pattern. This pattern has evolved as the result of trade-offs in the 6-7 million years of human evolution. This typically human growth pattern differs from that of other long-living social primate species. It can be divided into different biological age stages, with specific biological, cognitive and socio-cultural signs. Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of an organism to react to an internal or external environmental input with a change in the form, state, and movement rate of activity (West-Eberhard 2003). The plasticity becomes visible and measurable particularly when, in addition to the normal variability of the phenotypic characteristics within a population, the manifestation of this plasticity changes within a relatively short time. The focus of the present work is the comparison of age-specific dimensional changes. The basic of the presented studies are more than 75,000 anthropometric data-sets of children and adolescence from 1980 up today and historical data of height available in scientific literature. Due to reduced daily physical activity, today's 6-18 year-olds have lower values of pelvic and elbow breadths. The observed increase in body height can be explained by hierarchies in social networks of human societies, contrary to earlier explanations (influence of nutrition, good living conditions and genetics). A shift towards a more feminine fat distribution pattern in boys and girls is parallel to the increase in chemicals in our environment that can affect the hormone system. Changing environmental conditions can have selective effects over generations so that that genotype becomes increasingly prevalent whose individuals have a higher progeny rate than other individuals in this population. Those then form the phenotype which allows optimum adaptation to the changes of the environmental conditions. Due to the slow patterns of succession and the low progeny rate (Hawkes et al. 1998), fast visible in the phenotype due to changes in the genotype of a population are unlikely to occur in the case of Homo sapiens sapiens within short time. In the data sets on which the presented investigations are based, such changes appear virtually impossible. The study periods cover 5-30 to max.100 years (based on data from the body height from historical data sets).}, language = {en} } @article{HermanussenScheffler2016, author = {Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Stature signals status: The association of stature, status and perceived dominance - a thought experiment}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\~A}¼r Anthropologie}, volume = {73}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\~A}¼r Anthropologie}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2016/0698}, pages = {265 -- 274}, year = {2016}, abstract = {Background: There is a common perception that tall stature results in social dominance. Evidence in meerkats suggests that social dominance itself may be a strong stimulus for growth. Relative size serves as the signal for individuals to induce strategic growth adjustments. Aim: We construct a thought experiment to explore the potential consequences of the question: is stature a social signal also in humans? We hypothesize that (1) upward trends in height in the lower social strata are perceived as social challenges yielding similar though attenuated upward trends in the dominant strata, and that (2) democratization, but also periods of political turmoil that facilitate upward mobility of the lower strata, are accompanied by upward trends in height. Material and methods: We reanalyzed large sets of height data of European conscripts born between 1856-1860 and 1976-1980; and annual data of German military conscripts, born between 1965 and 1985, with information on height and school education. Results: Taller stature is associated with higher socioeconomic status. Historic populations show larger height differences between social strata that tend to diminish in the more recent populations. German height data suggest that both democratization, and periods of political turmoil facilitating upward mobility of the lower social strata are accompanied by a general upward height spiral that captures the whole population. Discussion: We consider stature as a signal. Nutrition, health, general living conditions and care giving are essential prerequisites for growth, yet not to maximize stature, but to allow for its function as a lifelong social signal. Considering stature as a social signal provides an elegant explanation of the rapid height adjustments observed in migrants, of the hitherto unexplained clustering of body height in modern and historic cohorts of military conscripts, and of the parallelism between changes in political conditions, and secular trends in adult human height since the 19th century.}, language = {en} } @article{BentsRybakGroth2017, author = {Bents, Dominik and Rybak, Alexander and Groth, Detlef}, title = {Spatial conscript body height correlation of Norwegian districts in the 19th century}, series = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, volume = {74}, journal = {Anthropologischer Anzeiger : journal of biological and clinical anthropology ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft f{\"u}r Anthropologie}, number = {1}, publisher = {Schweizerbart}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2017/0700}, pages = {65 -- 69}, year = {2017}, abstract = {Background: We investigated height of Norwegian conscripts in view of the hypothesis of a "community effect on height" using autocorrelation analysis of district heights within a time-span of 20 years at the end of the 19th century and correlations between neighboring districts at this time. Material and methods: After digitalizing available body height data of Norwegian draftees in 1877-1878, 1880 (averaged as 1878), and 1895-1897 (averaged as 1896) we calculated the magnitude of autocorrelation of body height within the same municipality at different time points. Furthermore, we generated three different neighborhood networks, (1) based on Euclidean distances, (2) a minimum spanning tree build on those distances, (3) a network founded on real world road connections. The networks were used to determine the correlation between body height of neighboring districts depending on the number of edges required to connect two municipalities. Results: The autocorrelation value for body heights was around r = 0.5 (for all p < 0.001) in the years 1878 and 1896. The correlation between neighboring districts varied in the Euclidean distance based network between 0.47 and 0.27 approximately for both years in a sorted order, descending from nearest (0-50 km) to farthest (150-200 km, for all p < 0.001). First order neighbors in the minimum spanning tree network correlation was 0.36 in 1878 and 0.42 in 1896 (for all p < 0.001). The values of neighbor correlation in the road connection based network ranged in 1878 from 0.42 (first order neighbors) to 0.17 (forth order neighbors, for all p < 0.01) and in 1896 from 0.46 (first order neighbors) to 0.12 (forth order neighbors, for all p < 0.05). Conclusion: This initial study of Norwegian conscript height data from the 19th century showed significant medium sized effects for the within district autocorrelation between 1878 and 1896 as well as medium neighborhood correlation, slightly lower in comparison to a recent study regarding Swiss conscripts. Digitalizing more data from other years in this and later time spans as well as using older road and ship connections instead of the actual road data might stabilize and improve those findings.}, language = {en} } @article{RoeslerGasparatosHermanussenetal.2022, author = {R{\"o}sler, Antonia and Gasparatos, Nikolaos and Hermanussen, Michael and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Practicability and user-friendliness of height measurements by proof of concept APP using Augmented Reality, in 22 healthy children}, series = {Human biology and public health}, volume = {2022}, journal = {Human biology and public health}, number = {2}, publisher = {Universit{\"a}tsverlag Potsdam}, address = {Potsdam}, issn = {2748-9957}, doi = {10.52905/hbph2022.2.48}, pages = {9}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Background: Child growth is a dynamic process. When measured at short intervals, children's growth shows characteristic patterns that can be of great importance for clinical purposes. Objective: To study whether measuring height on a daily basis using an APP is practicable and user-friendly. Methods: Recruitment took place via Snowball Sampling. Thirteen out of 14 contacted families signed up for a study period of 12 weeks with altogether 22 healthy children aged 3 to 13 years (response rate 93\%). The study started with a visit to the family home for the setup of the measurement site, conventional height measuring and initial training of the new measurement process. Follow-up appointments were made at four, eight and 12 weeks. The children's height was measured at daily intervals at their family homes over a period of three months. Results: The parents altogether recorded 1704 height measurements and meticulously documented practicability and problems when using the device. A 93\% response rate in recruitment was achieved by maintaining a high motivation within the families. Contact with the principal investigator was permanently available, including open communication, personal training and attendance during the appointments at the family homes. Conclusion: Measuring height by photographic display is interesting for children and parents and can be used for height measurements at home. A positive response rate of 13 out of 14 families with altogether 22 children highlights feasible recruitment and the high convenience and user-friendliness of daily APP-supported height measurements. Daily APP measurements appear to be a promising new tool for longitudinal growth studies.}, language = {en} } @article{MartinDorjeeGrothetal.2020, author = {Martin, Lidia and Dorjee, Binu and Groth, Detlef and Scheffler, Christiane}, title = {Positive influence of parental education on growth of children}, series = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger}, volume = {77}, journal = {Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger}, number = {5}, publisher = {Schweizerbart science publishers}, address = {Stuttgart}, issn = {0003-5548}, doi = {10.1127/anthranz/2020/1177}, pages = {375 -- 387}, year = {2020}, abstract = {In nature, dominance is often shown by body size; even in humans many studies report that social status is associated with body height. In today's society, educational status is an important factor for social classification. Since growing children do not have their own educational or social status, they are often affected by the status of their parents. Therefore, the question appears, whether parental educational status measurably affects the growth of a child. If so, is this explainable by the nutritional factors? To test this hypothesis, seven different Indian data sets where reexamined using the St. Nicolas House Analysis. The results show a direct association between parental education and body height (hSDS) of the child, but there was no influence of parental education on the nutritional status. We conclude that education has a direct effect on height that is not mediated via nutrition.}, language = {en} }