Growth in a population of Tibetan origin at high altitude.

The report describes height, weight and triceps skinfold measurement for 239 individuals from 5 to 22 and 30 to 39 years of age living in the rural Tibetan village of Mugu, Nepal (altitude 3800m). It compares this population with a high-altitude Andean Quechua population and another high-altitude Tibetan population. A delay in height and weight is manifested by the Mugu population. Mugu children are shorter and lighter than the high-altitude Quechua sample during childhood and the early teens, yet they eventually achieve similar adult heights and weights. Mugu males are shorter and lighter than another Tibetan male sample. The reasons for the contrasting growth patterns are not known precisely due to present lack of thorough nutritional, epidemiological and genetical studies from Mugu.