Growth deceleration in Japanese schoolchildren with special reference to those in the city of Sendai.

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Abstract
IKEDA, M., WATANABE, T., KOIZUMI, A., KUMAI, M. and FUJITA, H. Growth Deceleration in Japanese Schoolchildren with Special Reference to Those in the City of Sendai. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1983, 139 (2), 113-119-From the national and regional statistics on the body dimensions of schoolchildren at the 6th year grade in primary schools (i.e., 11-year-olds) and at the 3rd year grade in junior high schools (i.e., 14-year-olds), the secular gains in height and weight by the children of the same age were calculated for the three periods of 1960-4, 1972-76 and 1976-81. Compared with the first period (i.e., 1960-4) when the growth acceleration was maximal, the secular gain was apparently reduced in the second and third study periods (i.e. 1970's) to the level of 1/2 to 1/3 of that in the first period, and was next to nil in some districts. Such deceleration was coupled with changes in seasonal growth patterns and diminution of urban-rural gaps both in the body size and the secular gain. For example, the body dimensions of the children in the City of Sendai did not differ in 1981 between the core part of the city and the surroundings, while the difference had been observed till late 1970's. The 1979 measurements of height and weight of Japanese children are compared with counterpart values observed in other countries.