The Relation of Body Build to Drug Addiction

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Abstract
Anthropometric measures and observations were made on a group of 400 native, white, incarcerated [male] drug addicts (users of opium or one of its derivatives) in a constitutional approach to the problem of drug addiction. The following anthropometric measurements were made: height, wt., leg length, trans. chest diam., sag. chest diam., trunk height, umbilicus to symphysis pubis, umbilicus to supra-sternal notch, and circs. of the head, neck, forearm, and calf. A variety of subjective estimations were made concerning contours, development, musculature, and hair distr. The Wertheimer-Hesketh, Pignet, and height-wt. ratios were also computed. To determine reliability, 127 cases were recalled for re-examination after 51/2 mos. The findings are reported by 10 and 20 yr. age groupings, as well as the entire group. Height and wt. comparisons are made with convicts, U. S. Army recruits, college students, football players, and Hooton''s "civil check samples." The narcotic drug addicts included in this study were avg. or slightly superior in height and wt. There was an avg. gain in wt. of a little more than 3 kgs. 6 mos. after institutionali-zation. The body build of this narcotic drug addict group was within normal limits with a trend toward the pyknic end of the distr. The etiology of drug addiction cannot be ascribed in these cases to gross constitutional weakness.

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