Henneberg Maciej, Louw Graham J
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Cape Town Medical School, Observatory 7925, Cape Town, South Africa.
Am J Hum Biol. 1990;2(3):227-233. doi: 10.1002/ajhb.1310020304.
Among 1,165 subjects aged 6-18 years who were examined once cross-sectionally, a significant variation in body height and weight according to the month of birth of the subjects was found. All subjects belonged to the so-called Cape Coloured community, were born locally, and their parents belonged to the most affluent sector of the community. Individuals born in February to July were shorter and weighed less (by 13 to 17% of the standard deviation) than those born in August to January. These results are similar to those obtained for Canadian children, who were measured on their birthdays. Since our individuals were measured only once, at the same time of the year, observed differences cannot be ascribed to seasonal fluctuations of growth rates prior to measurement but must constitute a persistent effect of seasonal fluctuation in earlier growth. Immediate environmental conditions (food, temperature, rainfall, and insolation) in the Southern Hemisphere fluctuate seasonally 6 months out of phase from those in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus the similarity of our findings to those from the Northern Hemisphere suggests a factor common for the entire earth, possibly related to the ellipsoid shape of the orbit of the planet.
在1165名6至18岁的受试者中，对他们进行了一次横断面检查，结果发现，根据受试者的出生月份，其身高和体重存在显著差异。所有受试者都属于所谓的开普有色人种社区，在当地出生，其父母属于该社区最富裕的阶层。2月至7月出生的个体比8月至1月出生的个体更矮、体重更轻（比标准差低13%至17%）。这些结果与在生日当天测量的加拿大儿童的结果相似。由于我们的受试者只在一年中的同一时间测量了一次，观察到的差异不能归因于测量前生长速率的季节性波动，而必须构成早期生长中季节性波动的持续影响。南半球的即时环境条件（食物、温度、降雨和日照）与北半球的季节性波动相差6个月。因此，我们的研究结果与北半球的研究结果相似，这表明整个地球存在一个共同因素，可能与地球轨道的椭球体形状有关。
