Socioeconomic determinants of anthropometric trends among Hungarian youth.

The increase of physical stature in the developed countries and their socio-economic correlates has been well documented for nearly two centuries. In this study, the secular changes in height, weight and the BMI of Hungarian university students and conscripts are analyzed for the years 1933-1998. During the first half of this period these body measurements changed little, while in the second half the rates of change accelerated rapidly: height increased by 1.7 cm among males and 1.8 cm among female university students per decade, and 1.8 cm among male conscripts. Differences were found according to the place of birth and residence as well as parental occupation and educational level.