Did Smallpox Reduce Height? Stature and the Standard of Living in London, 1770-1873

Voth, Hans‐Joachim; Leunig, Timothy

doi:10.2307/2597763

Cited by 27 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…The detrimental living conditions of the industrial environment inevitably led to increased morbidity and mortality and was said to be “peculiarly severe on infant life” (Report of the Commissioners, : p. 5). Social and economic historians have written extensively on the impact of industrialization on the growth and health of children throughout England during this period (Floud, Wachter, & Gregory, ; Humphries & Leunig, ; Kirby, ; Nicholas & Steckel, ; Oxley, ; Sharpe, ; Voth & Leunig, ). Bioarchaeological studies of urban health in 18th and 19th century England, however, currently have a strong London‐based bias (for some examples, see Hassett, ; Henderson, Lee‐Thorp, & Loe, ; Ives & Brickley, , Ives & Humphrey, ; King, Humphrey, & Hillson, ; Lewis, , Lewis, ; Pinhasi, Shaw, White, & Ogden, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

Newman

Gowland

Caffell

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objective: Stark health inequalities exist in the present day between the North and South of England, with people in the South, overall, experiencing better health across a range of parameters (e.g., life expectancy and number of years spent in good health). Bioarchaeological studies of skeletal remains from cemeteries across this geographical divide have the ability to provide a temporal perspective on the etiology, longevity, and nature of this disparity. Methods: In total 574 non-adults (0-17 years) from six urban sites (c. AD 1711-1856) were analyzed from the North and South of England. Measurements of long bone length, cortical thickness, and vertebral dimensions were analyzed alongside both skeletal and dental palaeopathological data to assess patterns of disease and growth disruption between skeletal samples. Results: There were few significant differences in growth parameters between the six sites in relation to geographical location. However, the northern-based sample Coach Lane (North Shields) demonstrated some of the highest rates of pathology, with metabolic disease being particularly prevalent. Discussion: Northern and southern populations suffered alike from the detrimental environmental conditions associated with urban centers of the 18th-19th centuries. However, the elevated prevalence of vitamin D deficiency seen within the Coach Lane sample is indicative of a regionally specific risk that may be related to latitude, and/or the influence of particular industries operating in the North-East. K E Y W O R D S palaeopathology, post-medieval, stature, vertebral growth, vitamin D deficiency

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

Newman

Gowland

Caffell

2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…13 13 Szreter and Mooney, ‘Urbanization’; Voth and Leunig, ‘Smallpox’; Oxley, ‘“Seat of death”’; and ensuing debate (Voth and Leunig, ‘Comment’; Oxley, ‘“Pitted but not pitied”’); Sharpe, ‘Short stature’. …”

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Bringing home the bacon? Regional nutrition, stature, and gender in the industrial revolution¹

Horrell

Oxley

2012

The Economic History Review

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The impact of changing diet and resultant nutrition on living standards over the industrial revolution has been much debated, yet existing data have enabled only general trends to be identified. We use data from Eden's survey of parishes in 1795 and the Rural Queries of 1834 to go beyond average calorie intake, instead focusing on micronutrients and quality of diet. From this we discern regional differences in diet. In 1795 these differences were related to the availability of common land and the nature of women's work. Diet in both periods also maps onto stature. Using five datasets on height, we observe a positive impact of diet in 1795 on men's, women's, and boy's heights. By 1834 the impact is less evident; for men it remained, for women and boys it either no longer existed or became negative. This may indicate the superseding of nutritional factors by environmental ones, but it also hints at the emergence of a different relationship between height and nutrition for women and children compared with men. We speculate that this points to a shift in the intra‐household allocation of resources, but challenge the notion that the emergence of male breadwinning automatically led to universal female disadvantage.

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“…13 13 Oxley, ‘ “Seat of death and terror” ’; Voth and Leunig, ‘Did smallpox reduce height?’; Leunig and Voth, ‘Smallpox did reduce height’; Leunig and Voth, ‘Smallpox really did reduce height’; Razzell, ‘Did smallpox reduce height?’; Razzell, ‘Final comment’; Heintel and Baten, ‘Smallpox’; Leunig and Voth, ‘Comment’; Oxley, ‘ “Pitted but not pitied” ’. For a recent summary of the debate, see Voth, ‘Living standards’. …”

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confidence: 99%

Explaining the short stature of the poor: chronic childhood disease and growth in nineteenth‐century England¹

Sharpe

2011

The Economic History Review

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This article examines the relationship between human growth, final height, and the environment in early nineteenth-century England. While the reasons for stuntedness are multifactoral and involve lack of nourishment and in utero conditions, we should also give emphasis to respiratory, gastro-enteric, and bone disease along with the inadequate and sometimes harmful arrangements for convalescence, involving opiates and inadequate rest. Hard work and prevailing social attitudes slowed recovery and affected limb and organ development.While survival chances may have improved, and indeed were enhanced by measures such as targeted poor relief, quality of life for infants and children remained low and had an influence on their height as adults.The bodies of surviving working-class children showed the burden of hard times.

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Did Smallpox Reduce Height? Stature and the Standard of Living in London, 1770-1873

Cited by 27 publications

References 5 publications

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

Bringing home the bacon? Regional nutrition, stature, and gender in the industrial revolution¹

Explaining the short stature of the poor: chronic childhood disease and growth in nineteenth‐century England¹

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Did Smallpox Reduce Height? Stature and the Standard of Living in London, 1770-1873

Cited by 27 publications

References 5 publications

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

North and south: A comprehensive analysis of non‐adult growth and health in the industrial revolution (AD 18th–19th C), England

Bringing home the bacon? Regional nutrition, stature, and gender in the industrial revolution1

Explaining the short stature of the poor: chronic childhood disease and growth in nineteenth‐century England1

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Product

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Bringing home the bacon? Regional nutrition, stature, and gender in the industrial revolution¹

Explaining the short stature of the poor: chronic childhood disease and growth in nineteenth‐century England¹