Cameron N, Kgamphe J S, Leschner K F, Farrant P J
Department of Anatomy and Human Biology, Medical School, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Ann Hum Biol. 1992 Jan-Feb;19(1):23-33. doi: 10.1080/03014469200001892.
Urbanization is a major migratory process characteristic of developing countries. The majority of comparisons of the growth of urban and rural children from developed countries reflect greater heights and weights, and by implication health, of urban children. Urban-rural comparisons of South African black children are few in number and have concentrated on 'average' children, thereby omitting the factor of socioeconomic status. The present study compares two groups of urban children of high (n = 307) and average (n = 867) socioeconomic status and two groups of rural children. The rural children came from farm labourer's families (n = 392) and traditional subsistence farming environments (n = 420). The children ranged in age from 5 to 19 years. In general the well-off urban children were consistently, but not significantly, larger than all other groups and 'average' urban children were consistently and at times significantly smaller and lighter. The growth of the two rural groups fell between these extremes but were also consistently different in that the children of farm labourers were significantly lighter at all ages than children living in a traditional subsistence economy. It is concluded that the average urban environment in South Africa is not conducive to improved growth and health unless it is accompanied by an improved socioeconomic status.
城市化是发展中国家特有的一个主要人口迁移过程。大多数对发达国家城乡儿童生长情况的比较显示，城市儿童的身高和体重更高，这意味着城市儿童的健康状况更好。对南非黑人儿童进行的城乡比较数量较少，且集中在“普通”儿童身上，从而忽略了社会经济地位因素。本研究比较了两组社会经济地位高（n = 307）和普通（n = 867）的城市儿童以及两组农村儿童。农村儿童分别来自农场工人家庭（n = 392）和传统自给农业环境（n = 420）。这些儿童的年龄在5至19岁之间。总体而言，富裕的城市儿童一直比所有其他组儿童体型更大，但差异不显著，而“普通”城市儿童一直体型更小、体重更轻，且有时差异显著。两个农村组儿童的生长情况介于这两个极端之间，但也一直存在差异，即农场工人家庭的儿童在各年龄段都比生活在传统自给经济环境中的儿童体重明显更轻。研究得出结论，南非的普通城市环境不利于儿童生长和健康状况的改善，除非同时伴有社会经济地位的提高。
