Growth studies in Jena, Germany: Changes in thoracic measurements between 1975 and 1995

This article presents the changes in three measurements of the thorax (chest depth, breadth, circumference) and in the chest index (chest depth / chest breadth) in 7-14-year-old school children from Jena between 1975 and 1995. Apart from the description of observed secular trends in body size (thorax measures) and form (index) of the thorax, age- and sex-specific differences are described. Boys have, on average, higher values of chest depth and chest breadth. Up to the age of 10, boys have a larger chest circumference at first, afterwards this is true for girls. The thoracic measurements increase under the influence of the secular trend. Since the individual measure- ments do not change in the same way, the trends suggest changes in proportions. Both sexes show similar secular trends, but the secular changes do not occur continuously, only intermittently. The results show that such intermittent changes occurred between 1985 and 1995. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 11:784-792, 1999. Copyright 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.