A Study of the Relationship between the Nutritional Quality of Life and Stature Sexual Dimorphism

Sunyoung Pak

doi:10.4163/kjn.2011.44.2.162

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Pak: A Study of the Relationship between the Nutritional Quality of Life and Stature Sexual Dimorphism

Research Article

Korean Journal of Nutrition

Korean Journal of Nutrition 2011; 44(2): 162-170.

Published online: 30 April 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2011.44.2.162

A Study of the Relationship between the Nutritional Quality of Life and Stature Sexual Dimorphism

Sunyoung Pak

Department of Anthropology, College of Social Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-746, Korea.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. (suny@snu.ac.kr)

Received 23 February 2011 Revised 27 March 2011 Accepted 28 March 2011

Abstract

We tested the hypothesis that an improved nutritional environment increases the size of stature sexual dimorphism (SSD) by comparing mean height changes in North and South Korean adults. For the first round of sampling, those North Korean refugees who had reached the age of 20 years before leaving North Korea were selected for the study. Then, two birth-year cohorts born between 1955 and 1959 and between 1980 and 1984 were finally selected for the analysis (383 males and 529 females). North Korean refugee mean height data were compared to the mean height of the comparable South Korean population derived from 2004 Korean size results (373 males and 429 females). The results of the analysis showed that there was no increase in mean height among the refugees, either in males or females, between the two birth-year cohorts. As a result, no change in SSD was observed between the two birth-year cohorts. In contrast, South Koreans showed a remarkable increase in height, with males having a greater increase during the corresponding 25 years. Consequently, South Korean SSD increased significantly with time. These results support the hypothesis that improved nutritional quality increases SSD.

Keywords: stature sexual dimorphism, nutritional environment, quality of life, refugee study, comparison of the two Koreas

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Size of stature sexual dimorphism by birth cohort of the Two Koreas.

Table 1

Selected socioeconomic indicators for the two Koreas

Table 2

Sociodemographic characteristics of the North Korean refugee sample

Table 3

Summary height (cm) of the North Korean refugees in comparison with "Size Korea 2004" means

Table 4

Tests of differences in statue sexual dimorphism

^*: p < .05, ^**: p < .0001

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