Using a sample of 2090 British father and son pairs the relationships between social and geographical intra- and inter-generational mobility were examined in relation to height, weight and body mass index (BMI). There was much more social mobility than geographical (regional) migration. Social mobility and geographical migration were not independent: socially non-mobile fathers and sons were more likely to be geographical non-migrants, and upwardly socially mobile fathers and sons were more likely to be regional migrants. Upwardly socially mobile fathers and sons were, on average, taller and had a lower BMI than non-mobile and downwardly mobile fathers and sons. In general, no significant associations were found between geographical migration and height or weight. Migrating fathers had a lower BMI than sedentes, as did their sons who migrated between 1965 and 1991. There was no significant interaction that indicated that social mobility and geographical migration were acting in a simple additive way on height, weight and BMI.

This article examines how the sex composition of women's current children at the start of a pregnancy interval influences both fertility desires and the full range of reproductive actions women may take to realize them, including temporary contraception, abortion and sterilization, in Madhya Pradesh, India, where popular notions of ideal family size and sex composition are dominated by son preference. The analysis is conducted using a dataset of 9127 individual pregnancy intervals from a 2002 statewide representative survey of 2444 women aged 15–39 with at least one child. The results indicate that women's preferences go beyond a singular preference for male children, with the preferred composition of children being two boys and one girl. Women with this composition are 90% less likely to report having wanted another pregnancy (OR 0.097, p<0.01) relative to those with two girls. These preferences have significant implications for reproductive actions. While sex composition has no statistically significant effect on the use of temporary contraception, those with the preferred sex composition are twice as likely to attempt abortion (OR 2.436, p<0.01) and twelve times more likely to be sterilized (OR 12.297, p<0.01) relative to those with two girls only.

High sex ratios are well documented in many Asian countries, including China. This study was conducted in three Chinese provinces to explore awareness of the high sex ratios and its effects. Questionnaires were completed by 7435 respondents; 46% were urban and 53% were female. Sixty-four per cent were aware of the high sex ratio, and the majority were able to identify a range of consequences both for society and for unmarried men. These high levels of awareness of the negative impacts of high sex ratios should ultimately help to reduce the sex ratio at birth.

This text comments on the article by Lundborg et al. ‘Getting ready for the marriage market? The association between divorce risks and investments in attractive body mass among married Europeans’ published in July 2007 in this journal. This commentary presents differing results from the original data using multilevel analysis for calculation. The results presented here suggest there is no significant relation between divorce risk and body mass index (BMI) among married individuals in European countries. Therefore, the primary finding of Lundborg et al. (2007) is questioned.

The aim of this study was to investigate marriage behaviour from 1825 to 1924 in an Alpine valley inhabited by Ladin speakers (Gardena Valley, South Tyrol, Italy), where the particular geographic, linguistic and economic characteristics may have influenced the level of reproductive isolation. A total of 2183 marriage acts from the two main parishes of Santa Cristina and Ortisei were examined. Birth and residence endogamy, inbreeding coefficients from dispensations and from isonymy, birth place distribution of the spouses and isonymic relationships were analysed in four 25-year sub-periods. All the indicators considered point to a lower level of reproductive isolation at Ortisei, a main centre for the woodcarving industry, which appeared to be experiencing an early and effective breakdown of isolation. Marriage behaviour in the Gardena Valley between 1825 and 1924 seems to have been mostly influenced by socioeconomic factors rather than linguistic and cultural ones.

This report examines the implications of female genital cutting and other intra-vaginal practices for offering the TwoDay Method® of family planning. This fertility awareness-based method relies on the identification of cervico-vaginal secretions to identify the fertile window. Female genital cutting and traditional vaginal practices, such as the use of desiccants, may affect the presence or absence of secretions and therefore the woman's perception of her fertility. These issues and their implications for service delivery of the method are discussed.

Overweight and obesity constitute a major and increasing health and welfare problem throughout the world. Assessing the multifaceted mechanisms – biological, environmental and behavioural – behind this development is a crucial task in medical, social and economic sciences. We are, therefore, grateful to have been given the opportunity to, once again, discuss whether the risk of divorce may be one of the factors influencing the incentives of becoming overweight or obese and, hence, ultimately the physical appearance among the married. In this Debate, colleagues Schneider and Grimps present the results of a multilevel analysis, in which they could not identify any statistically significant association between body mass index (BMI) and divorce risk among married people. Thus, they question the findings, previously published in this Journal (Lundborg et al., 2007). The Schneider and Grimps arguments are not convincing, however. So, we still claim that the statistical material at hand does, indeed, imply that divorce risk at the national level may well influence the weight of the married.

There is an obvious need for better understanding of people's motives for body weight change, due to the importance of the health-related, social and economic consequences of obesity. In particular, exploration of little-discussed social aspects could provide further insights, but requires, however, close examination. This also applies to the study of the effect of marriage-market-related incentives and divorce risks on individual body mass index (BMI). Nevertheless, the ongoing debate about whether and to what extent the risk of divorce influences the body constitution of middle-aged individuals has as yet failed to mature into a common agreement. This paper will therefore re-examine theoretical assumptions and statistical calculations to clarify still contentious points. Finally, the results of this study suggest once more that there is no significant relationship between country-specific divorce risk and BMI among married individuals in Europe.