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AN ECOLOGIC STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEAN BIRTH WEIGHT, TEMPERATURE AND CALORIE CONSUMPTION LEVEL IN JAPAN

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1998

SHINYA MATSUDA ,
MIZUHO FURUTA  and
HIROAKI KAHYO
SHINYA MATSUDA
Affiliation:
Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, School of Nursing and Medical Technology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Yahatanishi, Kitakyushu 807, Japan
MIZUHO FURUTA
Affiliation:
Division of Physical Education, School of Nursing and Medical Technology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Yahatanishi, Kitakyushu 807, Japan
HIROAKI KAHYO
Affiliation:
Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, School of Nursing and Medical Technology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Yahatanishi, Kitakyushu 807, Japan
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Abstract

This study reports an ecologic analysis of the relationship between mean birth weight (MBW) and nutritional, medical and social variables, using 1982 data for 47 prefectures in Japan.

Correlation analysis showed that variables that correlated significantly with MBW were mean temperature (r=0·63), total calorie intake (r=0·56), and body mass index of women (r=0·60). It is concluded that the MBW level in a given community represents the long and short term nutritional condition of mothers, and that the level may follow Bergman’s law: ‘In the same species, the body size of an animal increases along with latitude; that is, the lower the temperature, the larger the body size’.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 1998 , pp. 85 - 93
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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