The Human Body in Britain: Past and Future

Author(s):  
Roderick Floud

This chapter explores evidence on the changing shape of the British human body, in particular its height and weight, in order to shed light on the past and possibly future standard of living of the British population. It focuses on anthropometric measures (based on height, weight, and body mass index) that are employed as indicators of material welfare of the population.

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuro Okamura ◽  
Yoshitaka Hashimoto ◽  
Masahide Hamaguchi ◽  
Akihiro Obora ◽  
Takao Kojima ◽  
...  

Abstract Background In this study, to clarify the evolving background of people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), we compared the current prevalence of NAFLD with that of 2 decades ago. Methods We included two cohorts. The past cohort was from 1994 to 1997 and included 4279 men and 2502 women. The current cohort was from 2014 to 2017 and included 8918 men and 7361 women. NAFLD was diagnosed by abdominal ultrasonography. Results The prevalence of NAFLD increased in both genders throughout these 2 decades (18.5% in the past cohort and 27.1% in the current cohort for men; and 8.0% in the past cohort and 9.4% in the current cohort for women). The prevalence of hyperglycemia increased, whereas the prevalence of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and hypertriglyceridemia significantly decreased. There was no significant difference in the mean body mass index. Multivariate analysis revealed that the prevalence of obesity and body mass index were significantly associated with the prevalence of NAFLD in both the past and current cohorts. Conclusions The incidence of NAFLD significantly increased throughout these 2 decades, and obesity is the most prevalent factor. Thus, body weight management is an essential treatment option for NAFLD.


2010 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 652-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana da Conceição Antunes ◽  
Manoela Neves da Jornada ◽  
Letícia Ramalho ◽  
Maria Paz Loayza Hidalgo

OBJECTIVE: Correlate shift work with body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, chronotype and depressive symptoms. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This study comprising 14 shift workers and 13 day workers. Subjects were workers from the health area aged 25 to 60 years. Minor psychiatric disorders were accessed by Self Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20) and depressive symptoms by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Chronotype was accessed using Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Anthropometric measures were taken. RESULTS: Shift workers presented higher BMI (P = 0.03) and waist circumference (P = 0.004) than day workers. Years on shift work were significantly correlated to waist circumference (r = 0.43; P = 0.03) and age (r = 0.47; P = 0.02). Shift work was not correlated with depressive symptoms and chronotype. CONCLUSION: These results may suggest a role played by shift work on the development and/or the early clinic manifestations of metabolic disturbances, becoming a risk factor to metabolic syndrome.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 3911
Author(s):  
Peter Francis Raguindin ◽  
Alessandro Bertolo ◽  
Ramona Maria Zeh ◽  
Gion Fränkl ◽  
Oche Adam Itodo ◽  
...  

The level of injury is linked with biochemical alterations and limitations in physical activity among individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), which are crucial determinants of body composition. We searched five electronic databases from inception until 22 July 2021. The pooled effect estimates were computed using random-effects models, and heterogeneity was calculated using I2 statistics and the chi-squared test. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. We pooled 40 studies comprising 4872 individuals with SCI (3991 males, 825 females, and 56 sex-unknown) in addition to chronic SCI (median injury duration 12.3 y, IQR 8.03–14.8). Individuals with tetraplegia had a higher fat percentage (weighted mean difference (WMD) 1.9%, 95% CI 0.6, 3.1) and lower lean mass (WMD −3.0 kg, 95% CI −5.9, −0.2) compared to those with paraplegia. Those with tetraplegia also had higher indicators of central adiposity (WMD, visceral adipose tissue area 0.24 dm2 95% CI 0.05, 0.43 and volume 1.05 L 95% CI 0.14, 1.95), whereas body mass index was lower in individuals with tetraplegia than paraplegia (WMD −0.9 kg/mg2, 95% CI −1.4, −0.5). Sex, age, and injury characteristics were observed to be sources of heterogeneity. Thus, individuals with tetraplegia have higher fat composition compared to paraplegia. Anthropometric measures, such as body mass index, may be inaccurate in describing adiposity in SCI individuals.


Author(s):  
María Teresa Martínez-Romero ◽  
Antonio Cejudo ◽  
Pilar Sainz de Baranda

Puberty is a vulnerable period for musculoskeletal disorders due to the existence of a wide inter-individual variation in growth and development. The main objective of the present study was to describe the prevalence of back pain (BP) in the past year and month in school-aged children according to sex, age, maturity status, body mass index (BMI) and pain characteristics. This study involved 513 students aged between 9 and 16 years. Anthropometric measures were recorded to calculate the maturity stage of the students using a regression equation comprising measures for age, body mass, body height, sitting height and leg length. An ad hoc questionnaire composed of eight questions was used to describe BP prevalence in school-aged children. The results showed that the prevalence of BP in school-aged children was observed in 35.1% over the last year (45% boys and 55% girls), and 17.3% (40.4% boys and 59.6% girls, with an association found between female sex and BP) in the last month. The prevalence of back pain in the past year and month was higher the older the students were, or the more pubertal development they had experienced. The prevalence of BP in the last year was also higher in those with overweight or obesity. After adjustment for sex, there was an association between BP and older age and higher BMI in boys and an association between BP and higher pubertal development in girls. In summary, the present study showed that the prevalence of BP was related to the maturity stage and weight of the participants, with different prevalence patterns found according to sex.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia M. Tiuganji ◽  
Patricia Nehme ◽  
Elaine C. Marqueze ◽  
Cheryl M. Isherwood ◽  
Andressa J. Martins ◽  
...  

Urbanization has contributed to extended wakefulness, which may in turn be associated with eating over a longer period. Here, we present a field study conducted in four groups with different work hours and places of living in order to investigate eating behavior (duration, content, and timing). Anthropometric measures were taken from the participants (rural (n = 22); town (n = 19); city-day workers (n = 11); city-night workers (n = 14)). In addition, a sociodemographic questionnaire was self-answered and 24-h food recalls were applied for three days. The 24-h food recalls revealed that fat intake varied according to the groups, with the highest consumption by the city-day workers. By contrast, city-day workers had the lowest intake of carbohydrate, whereas the rural group had the highest. In general, all groups had some degree of inadequacy in food consumption. Eating duration was negatively correlated with total energy intake, fat, and protein consumption in the rural and town groups. There was a positive correlation between body mass index and eating duration in both city groups. The rural group had the earliest start time of eating, and this was associated with a lower body mass index. This study suggested that food content and timing, as well as eating duration, differed according to place of living, which in turn may be linked to lifestyle.


Author(s):  
Youn Kim

Listening is generally discussed in connection with auditory perception, with the ear as the primary perceptual organ. Recently, however, more comprehensive approaches are being emphasized along with the need to understand listening in the context of cultural and historical changes. This chapter investigates the plasticity of the idea of listening, both across disciplines and across historical contexts. By engaging with various discourses on seeing, hearing, and kinesthetics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the present chapter examines how a holistic conceptualization of listening that goes beyond the ear and functions in the context of the whole human body emerged and argues how understanding the past can shed light on the current understanding of music and the body.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e022714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Zhang ◽  
Shaoping Wan ◽  
Biao Zhang ◽  
Fen Dong ◽  
Li Pan ◽  
...  

ObjectiveTo explore the trend of hypertension prevalence and related factors in Yi people from 1996 to 2015.MethodsThree successive cross-sectional surveys were conducted in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in 1996, 2007 and 2015, respectively. A total of 8448 participants aged 20–80 years (5040 Yi farmers, 3408 Yi migrants) were included in final analysis.ResultsOverall, the age-standardised prevalence of hypertension in migrants was significantly higher than in farmers. Furthermore, the age-standardised prevalence rates increased from 10.1% to 15.3% to 19.6% in Yi migrants and from 4.0% to 6.3% to 13.1% in Yi farmers during 1996 to 2007 to 2015. The highest 2015-to-1996 ratio of age-standardised hypertension prevalence was in male farmers (ratio=4.30), whereas despite the highest prevalence of hypertension, the equivalent figure in male migrants was 1.57. The older age, overweight and obesity were persistent risk factors of hypertension in three periods. After adjusted for age and body mass index, the difference of hypertension prevalence between 1996 and 2015 then vanished in male migrants (OR=1.335; 95% CI: 0.884 to 2.015) and female farmers (OR=1.267; 95% CI: 0.590 to 2.719). The disparities of hypertension prevalence between Yi migrants and farmers were not statistically significant in all subgroups when adjusted for age, body mass index and education.ConclusionsOver the past two decades, the hypertension prevalence in Yi people has significantly increased. Yi migrants were more likely to be hypertensive than Yi farmers which was predominantly driven by the discrepancy of body mass index between them.


1997 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 585-606 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Murray

Whether anthropometric-mortality risk relationships as found in present day populations also characterized past populations is disputed. This article finds U-shaped body mass index (BMI)-mortality risk relationships among nineteenth-century men that were similar to such relationships as found in twentieth-century men. No relationship between height and mortality could be detected. This article infers from the socioeconomic homogeneity of the sample that the BMI-mortality risk relationship, although apparently invariant with respect to time, is driven by noneconomic factors.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 72
Author(s):  
William Cordeiro de Souza ◽  
André De Camargo Smolarek ◽  
Denise Barth Rebesco ◽  
Marcos Tadeu Grzelczak ◽  
Valderi Abreu de Lima ◽  
...  

Objetivo: Relacionar duas equações do método antropométrico do Índice de Massa Corporal (IMC) proposto por Quételet e Trefethen em mulheres. Métodos: A amostra foi constituída por 222 mulheres do município de Canoinhas/SC, com idades entre 18 e 49 anos. Para as medidas antropométricas foi avaliada a massa corporal e a estatura. Por meio dos dados obtidos foi calculado o IMC utilizando às fórmulas: Quételet= (kg/m2) e Trefethen= (1,3*kg/m2,5). Na análise dos dados realizou-se a estatística descritiva, o fator de correlação de Pearson (r) foi realizado para verificar a relação entre os métodos e o teste de Bland-Altman foi utilizado para verificar a concordância entre as equações. Foi adotado um nível de significância de p<0,05. Resultados: Foi encontrada uma relação muito forte e significante (r= 0,98; p= <0,001) com intervalo de confiança (IC 95% = 0,93-0,99) e concordância entre as equações do IMC. Conclusão: A equação do IMC de Trefethen apresentou associação muito forte e significante com a equação IMC de Quételet em mulheres.AbstractObjective: To relate two equations of the anthropometric method of the Body Mass Index (BMI) proposed by Quételet and Trefethen in women. Methods: The sample consisted of 222 women from the municipality of Canoinhas/SC, aged between 18 and 49 years. For the anthropometric measures body mass and height were evaluated. By means of the data obtained, the BMI was calculated using the formulas: Quételet= (kg/m2) and Trefethen= (1,3*kg/m2,5). In the data analysis, descriptive statistics were performed, the Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was performed to verify the relationship between the methods and the Bland-Altman test was used to verify the concordance between the equations. A significance level of p <0.05 was adopted. Results: A very strong and significant relationship was found (r= 0.98, p= <0.001) with a confidence interval (95% CI= 0.93-0.99) and concordance between the BMI equations. Conclusion: The BMI equation of Trefethen showed a very strong and significant association with the BMI equation of Quételet in women.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Blake ◽  
Nicola J Gullick ◽  
Charles E Hutchinson ◽  
Thomas M Barber

Background. Obesity is a leading comorbidity in psoriatic disease, including both psoriasis (Pso) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), and is associated with adverse metabolic and cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. Anthropometric parameters, such as weight, body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio, have been extensively reported in psoriatic disease. However, the associations of body composition and fat distribution with psoriasis have not been fully defined. Objectives. To identify whether patients with psoriatic disease, including psoriatic arthritis, have altered body composition compared with the general population, and to review existing modalities for the assessment of body composition. Methods. Electronic searches of the literature were conducted in PubMed, Medline (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Cochrane Central Register and Google Scholar. Titles and abstracts were reviewed by two authors independently against a set of prespecified inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results. Twenty-five full text articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final narrative analysis. The studies were of heterogeneous design and used a range of objective measures to assess body composition, including simple anthropometric measures, bioimpedance analysis (BIA), dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and computed tomography (CT). Few studies met all the quality assessment criteria. Conclusions. Patients with psoriatic disease reveal defined body composition changes that are independent of obesity and the customary metabolic syndrome, including higher overall body fat, visceral fat and sarcopenia. These findings emphasize that patients with psoriatic disease should be screened for abnormal adipose effects beyond their weight and body mass index (BMI). Our findings show that the last decade has seen an exciting expansion of research interest in the development and validation of new modalities for the assessment of body composition. There is no consensus on the optimal assessment method of body composition for this diverse group, hence there is a need for validation of existing modalities and standardization of assessment tools.


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