Patterns of growth in Queensland schoolchildren, 1911 to 1976

The heights, weights and skinfold thicknesses of 4466 Queensland schoolchildren, who were aged from six to 12 years and were measured in 1976, have been analysed and compared with the results of previous surveys conducted in 1911 and 1950. The 1976 study shows that Aboriginal children are generally smaller than Caucasian children, that Caucasian children in Queensland do not differ significantly from those in New South Wales, and that social class differences in stature have disappeared. Comparisons with the previous studies suggest that the secular increases in height and weight have become much smaller in the last 26 years.