Lower educational level remains associated with lower body height among Austrian conscripts born from 1961 through 2002.

Abstract

Growth patterns and final body height are influenced by genetic and socio-environmental factors. A major impact of education on growth has been documented. Body height increases with an increasing educational level.The present study focuses on the association patterns between body height and educational level among 1,734,569 Austrian male conscripts aged 17 to <19 born between 1961 and 2002. Four levels of education were classified to examine their association with body height. Over 42 years, the percentage of conscripts at the lowest educational level decreased dramatically from 37.5% to 1.7%. All educational classes showed increasing body heights over time. Despite a marked improvement in the living standard, body heights at different educational levels did not converge. In Austria, educational and social advancement was associated with higher population body heights. Young men at the lowest educational level, however, remain shorter and their body height gap to the highest educational level has widened.