Twenty-five years of national service--changes in height, weight and body mass index

The height and weight of 18-year-old Singapore National Service enlistees were extracted from computer records spanning 25 years (1967-1991). These were analysed for mean height, weight and body mass index (BMI) which overall show increases of 4.12 cm, 10.13 kg and 2.60 kg/m2 respectively. All ethnic groups (Chinese, Malay, Indian and Others) show a similar rising trend. While mean height appears to have stabilised in recent years, mean weight continues to rise. This is reflected in an increasing mean BMI. The proportion of 18-year-old male recruits with a BMI in the overweight range (> or = 25 kg/m2) increased from 1.37% in 1967 to 12.07% in 1991.