TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Aßmann, Christian T1 - Height and skeletal morphology in relation to modern life style JF - Journal of physiological anthropology N2 - Height and skeletal morphology strongly relate to life style. Parallel to the decrease in physical activity and locomotion, modern people are slimmer in skeletal proportions. In German children and adolescents, elbow breadth and particularly relative pelvic breadth (50th centile of bicristal distance divided by body height) have significantly decreased in recent years. Even more evident than the changes in pelvic morphology are the rapid changes in body height in most modern countries since the end-19th and particularly since the mid-20th century. Modern Japanese mature earlier; the age at take-off (ATO, the age at which the adolescent growth spurt starts) decreases, and they are taller at all ages. Preece-Baines modelling of six national samples of Japanese children and adolescents, surveyed between 1955 and 2000, shows that this gain in height is largely an adolescent trend, whereas height at take-off (HTO) increased by less than 3 cm since 1955; adolescent growth (height gain between ATO and adult age) increased by 6 cm. The effect of globalization on the modern post-war Japanese society ("community effect in height") on adolescent growth is discussed. KW - Pelvic breadth KW - Elbow breadth KW - Growth KW - Adult height KW - Community effect in height Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1186/s40101-015-0080-4 SN - 1880-6805 VL - 34 PB - BioMed Central CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Stature signals status: The association of stature, status and perceived dominance - a thought experiment JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - 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. KW - community effect on height KW - secular trend KW - body height KW - social signals KW - strategic growth adjustment Y1 - 2016 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2016/0698 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 73 SP - 265 EP - 274 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Secular trends in gestational weight gain and parity on birth weight BT - an editorial JF - Acta paediatrica : nurturing the child KW - birth weight KW - gestational weight gain KW - multipara KW - parity KW - primipara KW - secular trend Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.15678 SN - 0803-5253 SN - 1651-2227 VL - 110 IS - 4 SP - 1094 EP - 1096 PB - Wiley CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Nutrition, size, and tempo JF - Human biology and public health N2 - Nutrition is a prerequisite, but not a regulator of growth. Growth is defined as increase in size over time. The understanding of growth includes an understanding of the binary concept of physical time and individual tempo. Excess food causes tempo acceleration. Food restriction delays tempo. Tempo reflects the pace of life. It is a dynamic physical response to a broad spectrum of social, economic, political, and emotional (SEPE) factors and can affect life expectancy. Variations in tempo create distortions of the z-score patterns of height and weight. Illness or intermediate food shortage lead to intermediate halts in development and create short dips in the z-score patterns. Children who develop throughout life at delayed pace usually run at lower z-scores for height and weight, and show a characteristic adolescent trough; children who develop throughout life at faster than average pace usually run at higher z-scores and show a characteristic adolescent peak in their z-score patterns. During adolescence, almost half of the height variance is due to tempo variation. There is not one tempo for the whole body. Different organ systems grow and mature at different pace. KW - food access KW - physical time KW - SEPS factors KW - pace of life KW - catch-up-growth Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph2022.3.37 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 2022 IS - 3 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Evidence of chronic undernutrition in late 19th century German infants of all social classes JF - Human biology and public health N2 - 125 years ago, European infants grew differently from modern infants. We show weight gains of 20 healthy children weighed longitudinally from birth to age 1 year, published by Camerer in 1882. The data illustrate the historically prevalent concepts of infant nutrition practiced by German civil servants, lawyers, merchants, university professors, physicians, foresters and farmers. Breastfeeding by the mother was not truly appreciated in those days; children were often breastfed by wet nurses or received bottled milk. Bottle feeding mainly used diluted cow’s milk with some added carbohydrates, without evidence that appropriate amounts of oil, butter or other fatty components were added. French children from 1914 showed similar weight gain patterns suggesting similar feeding practices. The historical data suggest that energy deficient infant formula was fed regularly in the late 19th and early 20th century Europe, regardless of wealth and social class. The data question current concerns that temporarily feeding energy deficient infant formula may warrant serious anxieties regarding long-term cognitive, social and emotional behavioral development. KW - chronic undernutrition KW - breastfeeding KW - historical growth KW - social class KW - translation Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph2022.2.42 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 2022 IS - 2 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Pulungan, Aman B. A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Mumm, Rebekka A1 - Rogol, Alan D. A1 - Pop, Raluca A1 - Swanson, James M. A1 - Sonuga-Barke, Edmund A1 - Reimann, Anna A1 - Siniarska-Wolanska, Anna A1 - Musalek, Martin A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Boldsen, Jesper L. A1 - Tassenaar, (Vincent) A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Liu, Yuk-Chien A1 - Meigen, Christof A1 - Quanjer, Bjorn A1 - Thompson, Kristina A1 - Ozer, Baak Koca A1 - Bryl, Ewa A1 - Mamrot, Paula A1 - Hanc, Tomasz A1 - Koziel, Slawomir A1 - Soderhall, Jani A1 - Gomula, Aleksandra A1 - Banik, Sudip Datta A1 - Roelants, Mathieu A1 - Veldre, Gudrun A1 - Lieberman, Leslie Sue A1 - Sievert, Lynnette Leidy T1 - Meeting Reports BT - The Role of Beliefs and Perception on Body Size. Proceedings of the 26th Aschauer Soiree, Held at Aschauhof, Altenhof, Germany, May 26th, 2018 JF - Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews N2 - Thirty-one scientists met at Aschauhof, Germany to discuss the role of beliefs and self-perception on body size. In view of apparent growth stimulatory effects of dominance within the social group that is observed in social mammals, they discussed various aspects of competitive growth strategies and growth adjustments. Presentations included new data from Indonesia, a cohort-based prospective study from Merida, Yucatan, and evidence from recent meta-analyses and patterns of growth in the socially deprived. The effects of stress experienced during pregnancy and adverse childhood events were discussed, as well as obesity in school children, with emphasis on problems when using z-scores in extremely obese children. Aspects were presented on body image in African-American women, and body perception and the disappointments of menopause in view of feelings of attractiveness in different populations. Secular trends in height were presented, including short views on so called 'racial types' vs bio-plasticity, and historic data on early-life nutritional status and later-life socioeconomic outcomes during the Dutch potato famine. New tools for describing body proportions in patients with variable degrees of phocomelia were presented along with electronic growth charts. Bio-statisticians discussed the influence of randomness, community and network structures, and presented novel tools and methods for analyzing social network data. KW - Body size KW - Social group KW - Social network KW - Body perception KW - Competitive growth strategies KW - Growth adjustment Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.17458/per.vol16.2019.hps.mr.26achauersoiree SN - 1565-4753 VL - 16 IS - 3 SP - 383 EP - 400 PB - Medical Media CY - Netanya ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Lieberman, Leslie Su A1 - Janewa, V. Schoenfeld A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Ghosh, Arunava A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Godina, Elena A1 - Kaczmarek, M. A1 - El-Shabrawi, M. A1 - Salama, E. E. A1 - Rühli, Frank J. A1 - Staub, Kaspar A1 - Woitek, U. A1 - Blaha, Pawel A1 - Aßmann, Christian A1 - van Buuren, Stef A1 - Lehmann, A. A1 - Satake, T. A1 - Thodberg, H. H. A1 - Jopp, E. A1 - Kirchengast, S. A1 - Tutkuviene, J. A1 - McIntyre, M. H. A1 - Wittwer-Backofen, U. A1 - Boldsen, Jesper L. A1 - Martin, D. D. A1 - Meier, J. T1 - Diversity in auxology between theory and practice JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Auxology has developed from mere describing child and adolescent growth into a vivid and interdisciplinary research area encompassing human biologists, physicians, social scientists, economists and biostatisticians. The meeting illustrated the diversity in auxology, with the various social, medical, biological and biostatistical aspects in studies on child growth and development. KW - child growth KW - adolescent growth KW - child development KW - height KW - weight KW - body mass KW - socio-economic environment Y1 - 2012 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/0003-5548/2012/0133 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 69 IS - 2 SP - 159 EP - 174 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Lieberman, L. S. A1 - Schönfeld Janewa, U. A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Ghosh, A. A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Godina, E. A1 - Kaczmarek, M. A1 - El-Shabrawi, M. A1 - Salama, E. E. A1 - Rühli, F. J. A1 - Staub, K. A1 - Woitek, U. A1 - Blaha, Pawel A1 - vanBuurren, S. A1 - Lehmann, A. A1 - Satake, T. A1 - Thodberg, H. H. A1 - Jopp, E. A1 - Kirchengast, S. A1 - Tutkuviene, J. A1 - McIntyre, M. H. A1 - Wittwer-Backofen, U. A1 - Boldsen, J. L. A1 - Martin, D. D. A1 - Meier, J. T1 - Diversity in auxology: between theory and practice Proceedings of the 18th Aschauer Soiree, 13th November 2010 Y1 - 2012 SN - 0003-5548 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Lehmann, Andreas A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Sexuelle Reifeentwicklung & Menarchealter : Bedeutung des psychosozialen Umfeldes damals und heute Y1 - 2012 SN - 0179-9185 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Ipsen, Josefin A1 - Mumm, Rebekka A1 - Assmann, Christian A1 - Quitmann, Julia A1 - Gomula, Aleksandra A1 - Lehmann, Andreas A1 - Jasch, Isabelle A1 - Tassenaar, Vincent A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Satake, Takashi A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Nunez, Javier A1 - Godina, Elena A1 - Hardeland, Ruediger A1 - Boldsen, Jesper L. A1 - El-Shabrawi, Mortada A1 - Elhusseini, Mona A1 - Barbu, Carmen Gabriela A1 - Pop, Ralucca A1 - Soederhaell, Jani A1 - Merker, Andrea A1 - Swanson, James A1 - Groth, Detlef T1 - Stunted Growth. Proceedings of the 23rd Aschauer Soiree, Held at Aschauhof, Germany, November 7th 2015 T2 - Pediatric Endocrinology Reviews N2 - Twenty-four scientists met at Aschauhof, Altenhof, Germany, to discuss the associations between child growth and development, and nutrition, health, environment and psychology. Meta-analyses of body height, height variability and household inequality, in historic and modern growth studies published since 1794, highlighting the enormously flexible patterns of child and adolescent height and weight increments throughout history which do not only depend on genetics, prenatal development, nutrition, health, and economic circumstances, but reflect social interactions. A Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth Questionnaire was presented to cross-culturally assess health-related quality of life in children. Changes of child body proportions in recent history, the relation between height and longevity in historic Dutch samples and also measures of body height in skeletal remains belonged to the topics of this meeting. Bayesian approaches and Monte Carlo simulations offer new statistical tools for the study of human growth. KW - Adolescent growth KW - Peer group KW - Growth hormone KW - Community effect KW - Body height Y1 - 2016 SN - 1565-4753 VL - 13 SP - 756 EP - 767 PB - Medical Media CY - Netanya ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Statistical approaches to developmental and growth data of children and adolescents BT - an editorial to student research conducted during the 3rd international student summer school, July 2019, Potsdam and Gülpe, Germany JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie KW - human growth KW - bone accumulation KW - environmental effects KW - migration KW - socioeconomic status KW - parental education KW - nutrition KW - statistical tools Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2020/1302 SN - 0003-5548 SN - 2363-7099 VL - 77 IS - 5 SP - 355 EP - 357 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Human growth data analyses and statistics BT - The 4th Gülpe International Student Summer School JF - Human biology and public health N2 - Students learn by repetition. Repetition is essential, but repetition needs questioning, and questioning the repertoire belongs to the essential tasks of student education. Guiding students to questioning was and is our prime motive to offer our International Student Summer Schools. The data were critically discussed among the students, in the twilight of Just So Stories, common knowledge, and prompted questioning of contemporary solutions. For these schools, the students bring their own data, carry their preliminary concepts, and in group discussions, they may have to challenge these concepts. Catch-up growth is known to affect long bone growth, but different opinions exist to what extent it also affects body proportions. Skeletal age and dental development are considered appropriate measures of maturation, but it appears that both system develop independently and are regulated by different mechanisms. Body weight distributions are assumed to be skewed, yet, historic data disproved this assumption. Many discussions focused on current ideas of global growth standards as a common yardstick for all populations world-wide, with new statistical tools being developed including network reconstruction and evaluation of the reconstructs to determine the confidence of graph prediction methods. KW - Just so stories KW - Summer Schools KW - questioning solutions KW - repetition Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph2021.3.29 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 2021 IS - 3, Summer School Supplement PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Godina, Elena A1 - Ruehli, Frank J. A1 - Blaha, Pawel A1 - Boldsen, Jesper L. A1 - van Buuren, Stef A1 - MacIntyre, Matthew A1 - Aßmann, Christian A1 - Ghosh, Arunava A1 - de Stefano, Gian Fra nco A1 - Sonkin, Valentin D. A1 - Tresguerres Hernández, Jesús Ángel Fernández A1 - Meigen, Christof A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Geiger, Cherie L. A1 - Lieberman, Leslie Sue T1 - Growth variation, final height and secular trend : proceedings of the 17th Aschauer Soiree, 7th November 2009 N2 - Growth and body height have always been topics interesting to the public. In particular, the stupendous increase of some 15-19 cm in final adult height during the last 150 years in most European countries (the "secular trend"), the concomitant changes in body and head proportions, the tendency towards early onset of sexual maturation, the changes in the age when final height is being reached, and the very recent trend in body mass index, have generated much scientific literature. The marked plasticity of growth in height and weight over time causes problems. Child growth references differ between nations, they tend to quickly become out of date, and raise a number of questions regarding fitting methods, effects caused by selective drop-out, etc. New findings contradict common beliefs about the primary importance of nutritional and health related factors for secular changes in growth. There appears to be a broad age span from mid-childhood to early adolescence that is characterised by a peculiar insusceptibility. Environmental factors that are known to influence growth during this age span appear to have only little or no impact on final height. Major re- arrangements in height occur at an age when puberty has almost been completed and final height has almost been reached, implying that factors, which drive the secular trend in height, are limited to early childhood and late adolescence. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0018442X U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchb.2010.06.001 SN - 0018-442X ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Erofeev, Sergei A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - The socio-endocrine regulation of human growth JF - Acta paediatrica : nurturing the child N2 - Aim Growth is a multifarious phenomenon that has been studied by nutritionists, economists, paediatric endocrinologists; archaeologists, child psychologists and other experts. Yet, a unifying theory of understanding growth regulation is still lacking. Method Critical review of the literature. Results We summarise evidence linking social competition and its effect on hierarchies in social structures, with the neuronal networks of the ventromedial hypothalamus and body size. The endocrine signalling system regulating growth hormone, Insulin-like-Growth-Factor1 and skeletal growth, is well conserved in the evolution of vertebrata for some 400 million years. The link between size and status permits adaptive plasticity, competitive growth and strategic growth adjustments also in humans. Humans perceive size as a signal of dominance with tallness being favoured and particularly prevalent in the upper social classes. Conclusion Westernised societies are competitive. People are tall, and "open to change." Social values include striving for status and prestige implying socio-economic domination. We consider the transition of political and social values following revolutions and civil wars, as key elements that interact with the evolutionarily conserved neuroendocrine competence for adaptive developmental plasticity, overstimulate the hypothalamic growth regulation and finally lead to the recent historic increases in average height. KW - competitive growth KW - developmental plasticity KW - evolution KW - growth KW - hormone-releasing hormone KW - strategic growth adjustments Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16504 SN - 0803-5253 SN - 1651-2227 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - The impact of social identity and social dominance on the regulation of human growth: A viewpoint T2 - Acta paediatrica : nurturing the child Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.14970 SN - 0803-5253 SN - 1651-2227 VL - 108 IS - 12 SP - 2132 EP - 2134 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Stunting, starvation and refeeding BT - a review of forgotten 19th and early 20th century literature JF - Acta paediatrica : nurturing the child N2 - Aim: To scrutinize to what extent modern ideas about nutrition effects on growth are supported by historic observations in European populations. Method: We reviewed 19th and early 20th century paediatric journals in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the third largest European library with an almost complete collection of the German medical literature. During a three-day visit, we inspected 15 bookshelf meters of literature not available in electronic format. Results: Late 19th and early 20th century breastfed European infants and children, independent of social strata, grew far below World Health Organisation (WHO) standards and 15-30% of adequately-fed children would be classified as stunted by the WHO standards. Historic sources indicate that growth in height is largely independent of the extent and nature of the diet. Height catch-up after starvation was greater than catch-up reported in modern nutrition intervention studies, and allowed for unimpaired adult height. Conclusion: Historical studies are indispensable to understand why stunting does not equate with undernutrition and why modern diet interventions frequently fail to prevent stunting. Appropriateness and effect size of modern nutrition interventions on growth need revision. KW - Child growth KW - Historic literature KW - Refeeding KW - Stunting KW - Undernutrition Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.14311 SN - 0803-5253 SN - 1651-2227 VL - 107 IS - 7 SP - 1166 EP - 1176 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Bilogub, Maria A1 - Lindl, A. C. A1 - Harper, D. A1 - Mansukoski, L. A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Weight and height growth of malnourished school-age children during re-feeding BT - three historic studies published shortly after World War I JF - European journal of clinical nutrition N2 - Background In view of the ongoing debate on "chronic malnutrition" and the concept of "stunting" as "a better measure than underweight of the cumulative effects of undernutrition and infection (WHO)", we translate, briefly comment and republish three seminal historic papers on catch-up growth following re-feeding after severe food restriction of German children during and after World War I. The observations were published in 1920 and 1922, and appear to be of particular interest to the modern nutritionist. Results The papers of Abderhalden (1920) and Bloch (1920) describe German children of all social strata who were born shortly before World War I, and raised in apparently "normal" families. After severe long-standing undernutrition, they participated in an international charity program. They experienced exceptional catch-up growth in height of 3-5 cm within 6-8 weeks. Goldstein (1922) observed 512 orphans and children from underprivileged families. Goldstein described very different growth patterns. These children were much shorter (mean height between -2.0 and -2.8 SDS, modern WHO reference). They mostly failed to catch-up in height, but tended to excessively increase in weight particularly during adolescence. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-018-0274-z SN - 0954-3007 SN - 1476-5640 VL - 72 IS - 12 SP - 1603 EP - 1619 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - Body height in stunted Indonesian children depends directly on parental education and not via a nutrition mediated pathway BT - Evidence from tracing association chains by St. Nicolas House Analysis JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Background: Multiple linear correlations between parameters can be shown in correlation matrices. Correlations can be ranked, but can also be visualized in network graphs. Yet, translating a correlation matrix into a network graph is not trivial. In view of a popular child game, we propose to name this method St. Nicolas House Analysis. Material and methods: We present a new method (St. Nicolas House Analysis) that helps translating correlation matrices into network graphs. The performance of this and other network reconstruction methods was tested in randomly created virtual scale-free networks, networks consisting of bands or hubs, using balanced classification rate and the F1-Score for correctly predicting existing and non-existing edges. Thereafter we analyzed anthropometric data and information on parental education, obtained from an anthropometric survey in 908 Indonesian boys and 808 Indonesian girls. Seven parameters were analyzed: child height standard deviation score (hSDS), child BMI standard deviation scores (BMI_SDS), mid-upper-arm circumference (MUAC), mean thickness of subscapular and triceps skinfold (mean SF), and elbow breadth; as well as maternal and paternal education (years of schooling). The parameters were considered as the nodes of the network; the edges represent the correlations between the nodes. Results: Performance measures, balanced classification rate and the F1-score, showed that St. Nicolas’ House Analysis was superior to methods using sophisticated correlation value thresholds and methods based on partial correlations for analyzing bands and hubs. We applied this method also in an Indonesia data set. Ranking correlations showed the direct association between parental education and child growth. Conclusion: St. Nicolas House Analysis confirmed that growth of Indonesian school children directly depends on maternal education, with no evidence that this effect is mediated by the state of nutrition. Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2019/1027 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 76 IS - 5 SP - 445 EP - 451 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - Human growth data analysis and statistics – the 5th Gülpe International Student Summer School JF - Human biology and public health N2 - The Summer School in Gülpe (Ecological Station of the University of Potsdam) offers an exceptional learning opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. With the guidance of experienced human biologists, statisticians, and programmers, students have the unique chance to analyze their own data and gain valuable insights. This interdisciplinary setting not only bridges different research areas but also leads to highly valuable outputs. The progress of students within just a few days is truly remarkable, especially when they are motivated and receive immediate feedback on their questions, problems, and results. The Summer School covers a wide range of topics, with this year’s focus mainly on two areas: understanding the impact of socioeconomic and physiological factors on human development and mastering statistical techniques for analyzing data such as changepoint analysis and the St. Nicolas House Analysis (SNHA) to visualize interacting variables. The latter technique, born out of the Summer School’s emphasis on gaining comprehensive data insights and understanding major relationships, has proven to be a valuable tool for researchers in the field. The articles in this special issue demonstrate that the Summer School in Gülpe stands as a testament to the power of practical learning and collaboration. Students who attend not only gain hands-on experience but also benefit from the expertise of professionals and the opportunity to engage with peers from diverse disciplines. KW - Summer Schools KW - Statistical Exercise KW - Repetition Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph2023.1.70 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 1 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Greil, Holle A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Body mobility, reaction and concentration in young and elderly adults Y1 - 2000 SN - 953-96073-5-3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Greil, Holle A1 - Jürgens, Hans Wilhelm A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Schröder, Inge T1 - Anthropometrische Grundlagen für die Entwicklung maßgerechter 3D-Computersimulationen des menschlichen Körpers zum Einsatz bei der Gestaltung körpernaher Umweltelemente Y1 - 2000 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gomula, Aleksandra A1 - Nowak-Szczepanska, Natalia A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Koziel, Slawomir T1 - Trends in growth and developmental tempo in boys aged 7 to 18 years between 1966 and 2012 in Poland JF - American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council N2 - Objectives: To assess trends in growth in different developmental periods and trends in developmental tempo in Polish boys between 1966 and 2012. Methods: Data on 34 828 boys aged 7 to 18 years were collected during Polish Anthropological Surveys conducted in 1966, 1978, 1988, and 2012. Biological parameters, related to onset of adolescent growth spurt (OGS) and peak height velocity (PHV), were derived from a Preece-Baines 1 model (PB1). Childhood (height at 7 years of age), pre-adolescent (height at OGS) and adolescent growth (adult height minus height at OGS) were identified. Results: Positive secular trend between 1966 and 2012 in adult height accounted for, on average, 1.5 cm/decade, with varying intensity between the Surveys. Decline in both age at OGS and APHV between 1966 and 2012 (1.5 and 1.4 years, respectively) indicated an acceleration in developmental tempo, on average, by 0.3 year/decade. Increases in the contribution to the trend in adult height gained during growth in particular developmental periods between 1966 and 2012 were as followed-childhood: 0.6%, pre-adolescent growth: -3.1%, adolescent growth: 3.1%. Conclusions: Secular trend in developmental tempo and growth among boys reflects changes in living conditions and socio-political aspirations in Poland during nearly 50 years. Acceleration in tempo is already visible at age at OGS, whereas the trend in adult height occurs largely during adolescence, pointing to different regulation of developmental tempo and growth in body height. This finding emphasizes the importance of extending public health intervention into children's growth up until adolescence. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23548 SN - 1042-0533 SN - 1520-6300 VL - 33 IS - 6 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Gniosdorz, Birgit A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - The variability of bone strength and skeletal robustness of young men - how it can be influenced T2 - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie Y1 - 2011 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 68 IS - 4 SP - 497 EP - 498 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gasparatos, Nikolaos A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - Assessing the applicability of changepoint analysis to analyse short-term growth JF - Human biology and public health N2 - Background: Assessing short-term growth in humans is still fraught with difficulties. Especially when looking for small variations and increments, such as mini growth spurts, high precision instruments or frequent measurements are necessary. Daily measurements however require a lot of effort, both for anthropologists and for the subjects. Therefore, new sophisticated approaches are needed that reduce fluctuations and reveal underlying patterns. Objectives: Changepoints are abrupt variations in the properties of time series data. In the context of growth, such variations could be variation in mean height. By adjusting the variance and using different growth models, we assessed the ability of changepoint analysis to analyse short-term growth and detect mini growth spurts. Sample and Methods: We performed Bayesian changepoint analysis on simulated growth data using the bcp package in R. Simulated growth patterns included stasis, linear growth, catch-up growth, and mini growth spurts. Specificity and a normalised variant of the Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) were used to assess the algorithm’s performance. Welch’s t-test was used to compare differences of the mean. Results: First results show that changepoint analysis can detect mini growth spurts. However, the ability to detect mini growth spurts is highly dependent on measurement error. Data preparation, such as ranking and rotating time series data, showed negligible improvements. Missing data was an issue and may affect the prediction quality of the classification metrics. Conclusion: Changepoint analysis is a promising tool to analyse short-term growth. However, further optimisation and analysis of real growth data is needed to make broader generalisations. KW - changepoint analysis KW - changepoint detection KW - performance evaluation KW - mini growth spurt KW - short-term growth Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph2023.1.62 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 1 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Friebel, Francis A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Popular ideas and convictions about factors influencing the growth as well as the adult height of children BT - a German-French comparison JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Common knowledge suggests that growth in height is influenced by nutrition, genetics, health, and environmental and general living conditions. In addition, modern studies showed that also social mobility and dominance within the social group, may significantly affect adolescent growth and final height. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of popular ideas and beliefs about factors influencing the growth on the biology of child and adolescent growth. We hypothesized that these beliefs are culture-specific and age-dependent. We investigated 307 French and 315 German participants of all age-groups. We collected polarising statements by questionnaire that the participants had to agree or disagree on. French participants see a connection between nutrition and the body height of children. This is different in Germany and may be due to the fact that French food culture is more traditional. Genetic factors were generally overestimated and considered as the most important determinants of longitudinal-growth. The participants denied an influence of disease and social status. Participants over 35 years of age considered adult height to be independent of environmental factors. In conclusion, popular beliefs partly depend on culture and appear to change with age as a result of growing experience. KW - nutrition KW - genetics KW - health KW - environmental and general living conditions KW - child growth KW - adolescent growth KW - final height Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2019/0972 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 76 IS - 5 SP - 365 EP - 370 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Franke-Gromberg, Christine A1 - Schüler, Grit A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Digital 2D-photogrammetry and direct anthropometry : a comparing study on test accomplishment and measurement data N2 - The aim of this methodological anthropometric study was to compare direct anthropometry and digital two- dimensional photogrammetry in 18 male and 27 female subjects, aged 24 to 65 years, from Potsdam, Germany. In view of the rising interest in reliable biometric kephalofacial data, we focussed on head and face measurements. Out of 34 classic facial anatomical landmarks, 27 landmarks were investigated both by direct anthropometry and 2D-photogrammetry; 7 landmarks could not be localized by 2D-photogrammetry. Twenty-six kephalofacial distances were analysed both by direct anthropometry and digital 2D-photogrammetry. Kephalofacial distances are on average 7.6% shorter when obtained by direct anthropometry. The difference between the two techniques is particularly evident in total head height (vertex-gnathion) due to the fact that vertex is usually covered by hair and escapes from photogrammetry. Also the distances photographic sellion-gnathion (1.3 cm, i. e. 11.6%) and nasal-gnathion (1.2 cm, i. e. 9.4%) differ by more than one centimetre. Differences below 0.5 cm between the two techniques were found when measuring mucosa-lip-height (2.2%), gonia (3.0%), glabella-stomion (3.9%), and nose height (glabella-subnasal) (4.0%). Only the estimates of forehead width were significantly narrower when obtained by 2D-photogrammetry (-1.4 cm, -13.1%). The methodological differences increased with increasing magnitude of the kephalometric distance. Apart from these limitations, both techniques are similarly valid and may replace each other. Y1 - 2010 UR - http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/schweiz/aa U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/0003-5548/2010/0012 SN - 0003-5548 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Czernitzki, Anna-Franziska A1 - Pospisil, Christina A1 - Musalek, Martin A1 - Mumm, Rebekka A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Analysis of longitudinal data of height z-scores in kindergarten children BT - a pilot study JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Changes in body height throughout extended historic periods are very complex and dynamic processes. Thispilot study aimed to investigate the pattern of longitudinal height z-scores changes in children before and after entering kindergarten. In summer 2016, we measured height and weight of 32 children from 4 groups of two kindergartens aged 3–6 years. All ages were centered according to the age of entry into the kindergarten. For each child we determined mean z-scores for height before and after entering the kindergarten, and assessed the variances for each kindergarten group. Twenty-two children targeted in height z-scores towards average height of their respective kindergarten group, 10 children did not. Due to the small numbers, the convergence in height variance however, remained insignificant (chi-squared independence test, p = 0.127). Additional studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm this pilot study. KW - Height z-score KW - kindergarten children KW - secular trend KW - strategic growth adjustment KW - social signal Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2017/0708 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 2 SP - 109 EP - 112 PB - Schweizerbart science publishers CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Brinkmann, Stefanie A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - The relation between anthropometric measures of the body and back pain of nurses under work-related physical stress T2 - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie Y1 - 2011 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 68 IS - 4 SP - 490 EP - 491 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Varea, Carlos A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Human life course biology BT - a centennial perspective of scholarship on the human pattern of physical growth and its place in human biocultural evolution JF - American journal of physical anthropology KW - adolescence KW - childhood KW - life history KW - menopause KW - senescence Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.23357 SN - 0002-9483 SN - 1096-8644 VL - 165 IS - 4 SP - 834 EP - 854 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Hermanussen, Michael T1 - Global effects of income and income inequality on adult height and sexual dimorphism in height JF - American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council N2 - Objectives: Average adult height of a population is considered a biomarker of the quality of the health environment and economic conditions. The causal relationships between height and income inequality are not well understood. We analyze data from 169 countries for national average heights of men and women and national-level economic factors to test two hypotheses: (1) income inequality has a greater association with average adult height than does absolute income; and (2) neither income nor income inequality has an effect on sexual dimorphism in height. Methods: Average height data come from the NCD-RisC health risk factor collaboration. Economic indicators are derived from the World Bank data archive and include gross domestic product (GDP), Gross National Income per capita adjusted for personal purchasing power (GNI_ PPP), and income equality assessed by the Gini coefficient calculated by the Wagstaff method. Results: Hypothesis 1 is supported. Greater income equality is most predictive of average height for both sexes. GNI_ PPP explains a significant, but smaller, amount of the variation. National GDP has no association with height. Hypothesis 2 is rejected. With greater average adult height there is greater sexual dimorphism. Conclusions: Findings support a growing literature on the pernicious effects of inequality on growth in height and, by extension, on health. Gradients in height reflect gradients in social disadvantage. Inequality should be considered a pollutant that disempowers people from the resources needed for their own healthy growth and development and for the health and good growth of their children. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.22980 SN - 1042-0533 SN - 1520-6300 VL - 29 IS - 2 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - As tall as my peers BT - similarity in body height between migrants and hosts JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology JF - Anthropologischer Anzeiger ; Mitteilungsorgan der Gesellschaft für Anthropologie N2 - Background: We define migrants as people who move from their place of birth to a new place of residence. Migration usually is directed by "Push-Pull" factors, for example to escape from poor living conditions or to find more prosperous socio-economic conditions. Migrant children tend to assimilate quickly, and soon perceive themselves as peers within their new social networks. Differences exist between growth of first generation and second generation migrants. Methods: We review body heights and height distributions of historic and modern migrant populations to test two hypotheses: 1) that migrant and adopted children coming from lower social status localities to higher status localities adjust their height growth toward the mean of the dominant recipient social network, and 2) social dominant colonial and military migrants display growth that significantly surpasses the median height of both the conquered population and the population of origin. Our analytical framework also considered social networks. Recent publications indicate that spatial connectedness (community effects) and social competitiveness can affect human growth. Results: Migrant children and adolescents of lower social status rapidly adjust in height towards average height of their hosts, but tend to mature earlier, and are prone to overweight. The mean height of colonial/military migrants does surpass that of the conquered and origin population. Conclusion: Observations on human social networks, non-human animal strategic growth adjustments, and competitive growth processes strengthen the concept of social connectedness being involved in the regulation of human migrant growth. KW - growth of migrants KW - community effect on height KW - dominance KW - strategic growth adjustments KW - competitive growth Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2018/0828 SN - 0003-5548 VL - 74 IS - 5 SP - 365 EP - 376 PB - Schweizerbart CY - Stuttgart ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Bogin, Barry A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Fear, violence, inequality and stunting in Guatemala T2 - American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Association Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.23593 SN - 1520-6300 SN - 1042-0533 VL - 33 PB - Wiley Interscience CY - New York, NY [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boeker, Sonja A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane ED - Scheffler, Christiane ED - Koziel, Slawomir ED - Hermanussen, Michael ED - Bogin, Barry T1 - Westernization of self-perception in modern affluent Indonesian school children T2 - Human Biology and Public Health N2 - Background Subjective Social Status is used as an important predictor for psychological and physiological findings, most commonly measured with the MacArthur Scale (Ladder Test). Previous studies have shown that this test fits better in Western cultures. The idea of a social ladder itself and ranking oneself “higher” or “lower” is a concept that accords to the Western thinking. Objectives We hypothesize that in a culture where only the elites have adapted to a Western lifestyle, the test results reflect a higher level of accuracy for this stratum. We also expect that self-perception differs per sex. Sample and Methods We implemented the Ladder Test in a study of Indonesian schoolchildren aged between 5 and 13 years (boys N = 369, girls N= 364) from non-private and private schools in Kupang in 2020. Results Our analysis showed that the Ladder Test results were according to the Western expectations only for the private school, as the Ladder Scores significantly decreased with age (LM: p = 0.04). The Ladder Test results are best explained by “Education Father” for the non-private school pupils (p = 0.01) and all boys (p = 0.04), by “School Grades” for the private school cohort (p = 0.06) and by “Household Score” for girls (p =0.09). Conclusion This finding indicates that the concept of ranking oneself “high” or “low” on a social ladder is strongly implicated with Western ideas. A ladder implies social movement by “climbing” up or down. According to that, reflection of self-perception is influenced by culture. KW - self-perception KW - social status KW - westernization KW - cultural dependence Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph.v1.4 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 2021 IS - 1 SP - 1 EP - 13 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Boeker, Sonja A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Scheffler, Christiane T1 - Dental age is an independent marker of biological age JF - Human biology and public health N2 - Background: Biological age markers are a crucial indicator whether children are decelerated in growth tempo. Skeletal maturation is the standard measure. Yet, it relies on exposing children to x-radiation. Dental eruption is a potential, but highly debated, radiation free alternative.  Objectives: We assess the interrelationship between dental eruption and other maturational markers. We hypothesize that dental age correlates with body height and skeletal age. We further evaluate how the three different variables behave in cohorts from differing social backgrounds. Sample and Method: Dental, skeletal and height data from the 1970s to 1990s from Guatemalan boys were converted into standard deviation scores, using external references for each measurement. The boys, aged between 7 and 12, derived from different social backgrounds (middle SES (N = 6529), low-middle SES (N = 736), low SES Ladino (N = 3653) and low SES Maya (N = 4587). Results: Dental age shows only a weak correlation with skeletal age (0.18) and height (0.2). The distinction between cohorts differs according to each of the three measurements. All cohorts differ significantly in height. In skeletal maturation, the middle SES cohort is significantly advanced compared to all other cohorts. The periodically malnourished cohorts of low SES Mayas and Ladinos are significantly delayed in dental maturation compared to the well-nourished low-middle and middle class Ladino children. Conclusion: Dental development is an independent system, that is regulated by different mechanisms than skeletal development and growth. Tooth eruption is sensitive to nutritional status, whereas skeletal age is more sensitive to socioeconomic background. KW - dental eruption KW - biological age KW - skeletal age KW - growth tempo KW - maturation KW - malnutrition Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.52905/hbph2021.3.24 SN - 2748-9957 VL - 2021 IS - 3, Summer School Supplement PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Apanasewicz, Anna A1 - Groth, Detlef A1 - Scheffler, Christiane A1 - Hermanussen, Michael A1 - Piosek, Magdalena A1 - Wychowaniec, Patrycja A1 - Babiszewska, Magdalena A1 - Barbarska, Olga A1 - Ziomkiewicz, Anna T1 - Traumatized women’s infants are bigger than children of mothers without traumas JF - Journal of biological and clinical anthropology : Anthropologischer Anzeiger N2 - Life history theory predicts that experiencing stress during the early period of life will result in accelerated growth and earlier maturation. Indeed, animal and some human studies documented a faster pace of growth in the offspring of stressed mothers. Recent advances in epigenetics suggest that the effects of early developmental stress might be passed across the generations. However, evidence for such intergenerational transmission is scarce, at least in humans. Here we report the results of the study investigating the association between childhood trauma in mothers and physical growth in their children during the first months of life. Anthropometric and psychological data were collected from 99 mothers and their exclusively breastfed children at the age of 5 months. The mothers completed the Early Life Stress Questionnaire to assess childhood trauma. The questionnaire includes questions about the most traumatic events that they had experienced before the age of 12 years. Infant growth was evaluated based on the anthropometric measurements of weight, length, and head circumference. Also, to control for the size of maternal investment, the composition of breast milk samples taken at the time of infant anthropometric measurements was investigated. The children of mothers with higher early life stress tended to have higher weight and bigger head circumference. The association between infant anthropometrics and early maternal stress was not affected by breast milk composition, suggesting that the effect of maternal stress on infant growth was independent of the size of maternal investment. Our results demonstrate that early maternal trauma may affect the pace of growth in the offspring and, in consequence, lead to a faster life history strategy. This effect might be explained via changes in offspring epigenetics. KW - maternal trauma KW - early life trauma KW - breastfed infant development KW - POLS Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2020/1285 SN - 0003-5548 SN - 2363-7099 VL - 77 IS - 5 SP - 359 EP - 374 PB - Schweizerbart science publishers CY - Stuttgart ER -