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- Title
Did smallpox reduce height? Stature and the standard of living in London, 1770-1873.
- Authors
Voth, Hans-Joachim; Leunig, Timothy
- Abstract
The article discusses the impact of smallpox on the attained heights of those who survived the ravages of the disease. Smallpox exacted a heavy toll on early modern populations, causing a significant proportion of all deaths. For example, it accounted for up to 10 per cent of deaths in London, England during the eighteenth century. But its effect on isolated populations was much more severe: over 95 per cent of those living on the island of Foula died from the disease following its arrival in 1720. Those who survived were left pockmarked for life. Research into historical heights has been the largest single project undertaken by New Economic Historians since the 1970s. It has shed new light on issues as diverse as the standard of living debate and long-term trends in mortality. Biologically, an individual's attained height is a function of cumulative nutritional status during childhood. This is commonly defined as nutritional intake minus claims on this intake, which come from work, disease, cold, basic hygiene, and basal metabolism. Over the past 100 years there has been a secular increase in heights.
- Subjects
LONDON (England); ENGLAND; STATURE; SMALLPOX; EIGHTEENTH century; HEALTH
- Publication
Economic History Review, 1996, Vol 49, Issue 3, p541
- ISSN
0013-0117
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2597763