Psychosocial and biological correlates of rural children's height in Peru

Abstract

Thirty-six children aged 24 to 60 months of age, born at term, in a rural community in the southern highlands of Peru were divided into two groups seeking to represent opposite extremes of stature (high group and low group). The analysis reveals that a large number of biological and psychosocial variables associated with stature. Thus, mothers of children with short stature, compared to mothers of high, were significantly lower, had a higher number of pregnancies, fewer years of schooling and established a greater number of relationships of coexistence. The short children had lower weight at birth, as reported by mothers. Similar results were found when comparisons were made according to the sex of children.