Growth and fitness of Canadian inuit: Secular trends, 1970-1990.

The growth and development of Inuit children and adolescents living in the high arctic (Igloolik, NWT, 69°40' N, 81°W) has been surveyed crosssectionally and semilongitudinally on three occasions during a period of rapid acculturation: 1969-1970, 1979-1980, 1989-1990. Recruitment declined from 85% (1969-1970) to 63% (1989-1990) of eligible subjects, in the most recent survey a total of 91 males and 65 females. Secular trends in the community have included a change from nomadic to settled life, improved access to health care, reduction of average family size, a progressive shift from country to market foods, the introduction of a 12-grade school, and a progressive reduction of habitual physical activity with the advent of television and video programs. The stature of the youngest students has tended to increase by ∼1cm/decade, possibly as a consequence of dietary changes and resultant earlier maturation, but the stature of older adolescents has tended to decrease, possibly as a consequence of spinal trauma sustained during high-speed snowmobile operation. In the boys, the estimated onset of rapid pubertal growth has advanced from an age of 13-14 to 12-13 years, and in the girls, the period of rapid growth is now already established at 11 years. Over the 20 years of observation, skinfold thicknesses at any given age have increased, handgrip and knee extension forces have diminished, and relative aerobic power has also decreased. In consequence, the current generation of Inuit children are no more fit than their sedentary peers in southern Canada. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.