Body height in relation to rural-urban migration in Poland.

A survey was conducted among 2800 students studying in Wroclaw, Poland. The questionnaire included questions on the body height of the students and their parents, and place of residence and migration patterns of the students themselves, their parents and their grandparents. Body height in both students and their parents was positively correlated with the size of their place of residence. This was particularly true for male students and their fathers. Body height in students and parents from mobile families was not significantly different from that of their peers from non-mobile families. Body height in mobile individuals was generally between that of non-mobile individuals from rural areas and that of non-mobile individuals from large urban centres. Students from families that had migrated from smaller urban centres to larger ones were taller than students from families that had migrated from rural areas to urban centres. Body height in students was also correlated with the kind of migration that took place. In the students' mothers, body height was higher if the maternal grandparents moved from smaller urban centres to larger urban centres than if the maternal grandparents moved from rural areas to urban centres. In female students, body height depended on whether their mothers had migrated from smaller places of residence to larger places of residence, but was not affected by the degree of migration. Intra-generational migration during the generation of the students' grandparents was associated with increased body height in the students' mothers. On the other hand, intergenerational migration during the generations of the students' grandparents and parents was associated with increased body height in the students' fathers and in female students. Body height was not a reliable indicator of whether an individual migrated from rural areas to Wroclaw. Far more reliable indicators were the size of the place the student lived their whole life and whether the family had lived in an urban environment for at least two generations.

Posttransplant overweight and obesity: myth or reality?

UNLABELLED: Posttransplant body mass index (BMI) increase in kidney transplant recipients is an underestimated issue, predisposing to morbidity linked with development of polymetabolic syndrome. AIM: The aim of the study was to assess the incidence of overweight and obesity among endstage renal disease patients before and after kidney transplantation. MATERIAL: Four hundred eighteen kidney graft recipients were enrolled in the study which lasted a mean of 56 months. Inhabitants of Lower Silesia (n = 3855) were used as controls. Overweight was defined as BMI between 25 and 30 kg/m(2) and obesity as >30 kg/m(2). METHODS: Mean BMI calculated in 418 patients, both pretransplant and after a 4.5-year observation period was compared with results of the Lower Silesian population. RESULTS: Mean pretransplant BMI in men (n = 242) and women (n = 189) was lower than in controls: men pretransplant BMI 24.3 kg/m(2) versus 25.7 kg/m(2) in the normal population; women, pretransplant BMI 23.17 kg/m(2) versus 25.2 kg/m(2) in the control group respectively. Mean total pretransplant BMI values increased from 23.82 to 25.9 kg/m(2) at last checkup ("last BMI"). A lesser posttransplant BMI increase was noted in men (7%) compared with women (9.6%). Before transplant, overweight or obesity occurred in 38% (n = 157), after a 4.5-year observation period, 65% (n = 232). CONCLUSIONS: Our observations documented that obesity is a widespread issue in kidney graft recipients, affecting two thirds of the population. It should be the target of preventive measures and nonpharmacologic therapeutic interventions.

Structure of monthly increments of length, weight and head circumference in the first year: a pure longitudinal study of 200 Wroclaw infants.

One hundred boys and 100 girls born in Wroclaw, Poland from 1973 to 1975 were measured every month during the first year of life and every three months during the second. Body length and weight and head circumference were examined. The statistics of values of the traits and their increments and some of the correlation coefficients are given in the tables.

Growth of Wroclaw children aged 0-2 years born in 1964-65 and in 1973-75: longitudinal data.

One hundred boys and 100 girls born in Wroclaw, Poland in 1964-65 and the same number of children born in 1973-75 were measured every month during the first year of life and every three months during the second. The characters investigated were body length and weight, head circumference and Rohrer's index. Generally, it seems that during the decade considered body dimensions in girls have shown slight secular increases while in boys these dimensions have remained stable or have decreased. Consequently, sex differences have decreased. Values of Rohrer's index indicate that children born in the 1970s are slimmer than those born in the 1960s. This particularly concerns girls. It seems that the explanation of these changes should be sought in the lack of improvement of the socio-living conditions and the increase of harmful environmental influences, to which boys may react quicker. With girls, the secular changes may persist for some time, since their reaction to environmental stimuli is slower.