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Altitude and growth among the sherpas of the eastern Himalayas
Author(s) -
Gupta Ranjan,
Basu Amitabha
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.1310030103
Subject(s) - altitude (triangle) , sexual dimorphism , anthropometry , effects of high altitude on humans , skinfold thickness , low altitude , geography , demography , biology , zoology , meteorology , archaeology , sociology , mathematics , geometry
The results of the anthropometric survey of Sherpa children of both sexes (n = 478) from high‐ and low‐altitude areas in the eastern Himalayas are presented. The study reveals that growth is slower both more prolonged in the high‐altitude Sherpas compared with growth at low altitude and that Sherpa children are the smallest of all the high‐altitude populations considered here. Sexual dimorphism is not well defined during the earlier age periods. Our skinfold thickness data from the low‐altitude Sherpas corroborate the centripetal distribution of fat found elsewhere.