Some factors influencing the stature of Dunedin 7 year old children: a report from the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit.

The stature of 987 representative Dunedin 7 year olds was measured and some factors contributing to stature were studied in 666 children for whom complete data were available. Dunedin children were of similar stature to American children but were about 1 cm taller than British children. Socio-economic stature (SES), birth weight and maternal stature were significantly correlated with stature, while the sex of the child, gestational age, maternal age, ordinal position of the child in the family and number of children in the family were not significantly correlated. The effect of SES in Dunedin was much less than that reported for the United Kingdom. It was concluded that in this population SES and family structural factors are probably less important as determinants of child growth than they are in Britain and are of considerably less importance than the mother's stature and the child's birth weight.