STUDIES IN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract
Physical measurements were obtained from 2,632 healthy North American Negro children of low income families. Their ages ranged from 3 months to 17 years. Comparison with similar studies revealed the height and weight of the Negro children to be similar to those of North American Caucasian children. However, the head circumference and stem length were found to be consistently smaller than Caucasian children. At 1 year of age the weight, head, and chest circumferences of Negro infants of this study were significantly smaller than the same measurements previously reported for infants of the same race from middle income families in the city. Comparison is also made with studies on Negro children in West Africa and Jamaica.