Thesis-1987-Peters.pdf (9.56 MB)
The growth of school children from the subcontinent of India living in Leicestershire
thesis
posted on 2012-12-11, 14:43 authored by Jean PetersUsing data from the Leicestershire Growth Study, which
was established in 1981, this thesis sets out to evaluate
the growth of children in Leicestershire and to highlight
any differences which may exist between those children
indigenous to Great Britain and those whose families have
emigrated from the subcontinent of India. The latter
population can be subdivided further, i.e. peoples from the
countries of India, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the first group
primarily, having either migrated from India directly to
this country or having spent an interim period in East
Africa, and into adherents of the Muslim, Hindu or Sikh
faiths.
Seven anthropometric parameters, selected to represent
skeletal and soft tissue components of the body, and whose
dimensions reflect best the changing patterns of growth with
age and environmental factors, were measured on 3775
children aged from 3-10 years inclusive.
There are distinct anthropometric differences between
the indigenous population and that from the Indian
subcontinent, with the indigenous population having greater
skeletal dimensions, e.g. stature, head circumference, and
differences in body composition, reflected in greater
weight. These ethnic differences appear to have been
exacerbated by religious factors which impinge upon both
genotype and phenotype by imposition of their respective
individual cultures:, involving such factors as dietary
intake and marriage customs, resulting in the Indian Sikh
children resembling more closely the indigenous population
than do the Hindus and Muslims. Other environmental factors
such as length of time of residence in this country, or
period of time spent in East Africa appear to have had some
impact upon growth, since the Indians in Leicestershire are
taller and heavier than their counterparts still resident in
India.
Finally, it is recommended that some of the growth
charts in current use in Great Britain be modified for use
with certain groups of children from the Indian subcontinent.
History
School
- Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Publisher
© Jean PetersPublication date
1987Notes
A Doctoral Thesis. Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Doctor of Philosophy of Loughborough University.Language
- en