Height and Inequality in Post-1950 Mexico: A History of Stunted Growth

Abstract

Using data from two national surveys (ENSA, 2000; ENSANUT, 2006) we assess the evolution of biological standards of living of the Mexican population born during the second half of the 20th century. Our results show that there was an improvement in living standards reflected in an increase in stature, but this amelioration was limited. We observe differences across socio-economic strata, across educational levels, and between men and women. Persistent structural inequality has been byproduct of a system of security and social protection that was limited, segmented and hampered the potentially positive effects of social-welfare policies. We corroborate the relatively modest improvement in heights by comparing outcomes in Mexico with other Latin American countries.

The Escape from Malnutrition of Chilean Boys and Girls: Height-for-Age Z Scores in Late XIX and XX Centuries

“…This research agenda has produced a substantial long-term, comparative overview (mostly of the 19th and 20th centuries) of the biological well-being in the Iberian and Latin American region and its relationship with inequality and economic and social development [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Significant research has been done recently on various aspects of biological well-being especially in some of the largest countries of the region such as Argentina [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ], Brazil [ 10 , 11 ], Chile [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ], Colombia [ 17 , 18 ], Mexico [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ], Peru [ 5 ] and Spain [ 23 , 24 ]. However, there is still less knowledge on three specific areas.…”

Demographic and Health Indicators in Correlation to Interstate Variability of Incidence, Confirmation, Hospitalization, and Lethality in Mexico: Preliminary Analysis from Imported and Community Acquired Cases during COVID-19 Outbreak

“…Mexico experiences significant disparities in demographic and social aspects per sub-region. Mexico comprises 32 states with different ethnic, social, and economic characteristics that may translate into a differential epidemiologic profile of COVID-19, in both incidence and lethality [8].…”

Stunting Rates in a Food-Rich Country: The Argentine Pampas from the 1850s to the 1950s

“…For the last twenty years, Anthropometric History has produced a rich set of publications about the biological wellbeing of diverse populations in the Latin American past [1][2][3]. First in the agenda was the quest for new data to generate long-term estimates of average heights [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Later interest shifted to estimating the size of social and regional inequalities in biological wellbeing [16][17][18][19].…”