Body Size and Form of Black and White Male Youths: South Carolina Youths Compared with Youths Measured at Earlier Times and Other Places

From original data at age 15 years on 405 United States Black and White males residing in Richland County, South Carolina, statistics are presented for 10 somatic variables. The two ethnic groups, measured during 1974-1977, yield similar means for arm girth, calf girth, and body weight; the Black youths, compared with their White age peers, are shorter in sitting height, longer in lower limb height, narrower in hip width, longer in lower limb height relative to sitting height, and narrower in hip width relative to lower limb height. The South Carolina groups are compared with Black and White youths studied in the United States near 1900, and with Black and White youths studied during the last 25 years in Africa, Australia, Canada, Europe, Lesser Antilles, South America, and the United States