HEIGHT, WEIGHT, WARTIME STRESS, AND OLDER AGE MORTALITY - EVIDENCE FROM THE UNION ARMY RECORDS

Important determinants of older age mortality among a group of white Union Army veterans were (1) both past and current nutritional status, as proxied by adult height and body mass index, and (2) wartime stress, as proxied by wounds received, discharges due to illness, and prisoner of war status. The body mass and height optima are the same as found for contemporary industrialized populations, suggesting that height and weight standards derived from current industrialized nations can be applied to the developing countries and past populations. Changes in body mass index since the turn of the century accounted for roughly 20% of the decline in mortality from 1900 to 1986. © 1993 Academic Press. All rights reserved.