Height and Weight of Haitian Children

C ORRELATED data on age, stature and weight of children in the underdeveloped countries are important for various epidemi-ologic studies. The observations presented herein were made incidental to another project concerning growth of Haitian children ’ on 7,409 children from infancy to eighteen years of age (Table i). All measurements were made by two of us (J. F. and W. F.), in col-laboration with several teachers and a clinic nurse. Only those children with recorded birth dates were accepted for the study. Stature was determined to the nearest half inch. The anthropometer used was devised by one of us (E. L. S.). A sectional wood vertical unit is mounted by insertion of a rounded tip into a plumber’s flange on a hard wood platform. On the vertical unit is a steel tape marked in inches. A triangular slide to rest upon the head completed the equipment. Length of infants was determined by using the same equipment horizontally on a table. Weights were determined by a platform beam scale and read to the nearest half pound. The children have been classified for tab-ular study into the following three groups: wealthy urban, poor urban and rural. Wealthy urban children were students in private schools in Port au Prince and Petionville which charged monthly tuition of fifteen dollars or more. Results from all such schools except one are included in the data; the supervisors of the excepted school were not willing to cooperate