ANTHROPOMETRICAL DATA OF URBAN AND RURAL JAPANESE CHILDREN

For the purposes of anthropometrical reference, two groups of Japanese school children, aged 7 to 12, were measured: (1) an urban Tokyo group of 133 boys and 139 girls in 1985, and (2) a rural Zinego (Akita Prefecture) group of 117 boys and 136 girls in 1987. Means and standard deviations of 20 measurements and 17 indices of the Tokyo group, and of 14 measurements and 15 indices of the Zinego group and of the Tokyo and Zinego combined group are presented. Distribution normality for all measurements and indices was checked in each age group of each sex. Also, regional difference and sex difference were examined using the t-test and nonparametric test, because of non-normal distribution in many measurements arising from insufficient number of subjects. A difference of growth pattern between the Tokyo and Zinego groups in the same sex was suggested.