Growth and inequalities of height in Brazil (1939-1981)

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Munich Personal RePEc Archive
Growth and inequalities of height in
Brazil (1939-1981)
Monasterio, Leonardo M, Noguerol, Luiz Paulo and Shikida,
Claudio Djissey
UNSPECIFIED
01 June 2006
Online at http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/1118/
MPRA Paper No. 1118, posted 07. November 2007 / 01:32

Escola de Governo da Fundação João Pinheiro
TEXTO PARA DISCUSSÃO No 16
GROWTH AND INEQUALITIES OF HEIGHT IN BRAZIL (1939-1981)
Leonardo M. Monasterio
(UFPel)
Luiz Paulo Nogueról
(UFRGS)
Cláudio D. Shikida
(EG-FJP - IBMEC)
Belo Horizonte, agosto de 2005

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GROWTH AND INEQUALITIES OF HEIGHT IN BRAZIL (1939-1981)
Leonardo M. Monasterio
Department of Geography and Economics
Federal University of Pelotas
leonardo.monasterio@gmail.com
+55 53 3278-6665
Luiz Paulo Ferreira Nogueról
Department of Economics
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul
Luiz.Noguerol@ufrgs.br
+55 51 3316-4164
Claudio Djissey Shikida
Professor Paulo Neves de Carvalho School of Government
João Pinheiro Foundation and
Department of Economics – IBMEC/MGclaudiods@ibmecmg.br
+55 31 3448-9618

3SUMMARY:
This paper analyzes the heights of Brazilian people using anthropometric and economic data.
The literature suggests that height is a good proxy of the material living conditions of
different populations. Data indicate that the difference between the heights of 21 and 65-
year-old men is approximately six centimetres. The same value, by coincidence, represents the
difference in the stature of the poorest and richest quintiles. Adjusted data show an increase of
3.8 centimetres in the heights of adult male Brazilians born between 1939 and 1981. There are
also stable regional differences; in the North
and Northeast of the country, heights are about two centimetres lower than the national average
for all groups. Regression analyses show that proxy variables related to living conditions
during bodily growth, and using regional dummies, were statistically significant causes of
the variation in the heights of individuals. In contrast, colour, urban/rural, and inequality
variables were not significant. The results replicate what the historiography of the relation
between living conditions and stature makes clear: the social environment has a significant
impact on the average height of populations.
Key words:
Anthropometrics – Inequality – Indicators of conditions of life – Height - Brazil
INTRODUCTION
Inequality within Brazilian society is present in various dimensions. Income is
concentrated both regionally and individually. While part of the population enjoys living standards
and patterns of consumption comparable to those of developed countries, there are large numbers of
families living in poverty. About one third of the population lives below the poverty line, according
to official data and criteria. The poorest 20% account for 1.5% per cent of total national income,
while the richest 20% account for 68%. By comparing data from different states, we find that the
difference in life expectancy between the richest states and the poorest ones is more than eight
years. Per capita income in the poorest region is equal to one fourth of that observed in the
Southeast, the richest region of the country (PNUD, 2003).
The recent publication of research including anthropometric data concerning the
Brazilian population has generated a great amount of controversy in the media and in academic

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circles. Some researchers have concluded that the Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares1 2002-2003
(IBGE, 2005; henceforth POF) showed that obesity was a more serious problem than malnutrition.
In fact, the data do suggest that, even among the population in the lower strata, excess weight or
obesity is more common than weight deficit. In these strata, 24 per cent of men were overweight or
obese, while only 4.5 per cent had a weight deficit. Other analysts therefore assumed that
differences in nutrition among the various classes had disappeared in Brazil. However, some of
those who were most involved in anti-hunger campaigns mistrusted the validity of the results
presented by the IBGE2. This paper argues that the emphasis on excess weight is only one of the
interpretations which can be made of the POF data. When we change the focus to the height of
Brazilians, we can verify that, in spite of the social improvements which took place during the
twentieth century, there is a long way to go before the country reaches more acceptable patterns of
equality.
When the objective is to evaluate the quality of nutrition and the living conditions of
populations, both in a wide sense and in the long term, the average stature of individuals is an
excellent synthetic index. It reflects not only the average income of society as a whole, but also the
degree of access to food, together with the body’s consumption of energy, work and other physical
activities, plus the influence of diseases, especially during childhood.
Six centimetres - this paper shows that this is the approximate difference of height
between 21 and 65-year-old Brazilians, and coincidentally between adults in the richest and the
poorest quintiles of the population. Contrary to common belief, the literature notes that genetic
differences, despite their individual impact, are unimportant when we consider all individuals in
terms of stature. In any given population, there are tall and short individuals, but their average
height can be determined by external conditions, that is, through genes and the environment. In the
case of whole populations, however, living conditions are the most important factor. Thus, in
adulthood, height is bound up with both nutrition and health, a trait which would be difficult to
identify through more common welfare-related data, such as monetary income.