Creciendo durante el franquismo: antropometría y nutrición de la población escolar de Requena (Valencia), desde 1946 hasta 1964.

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Title: Creciendo durante el franquismo: antropometría y nutrición de la población escolar de Requena (Valencia), desde 1946 hasta 1964.
Alternate Title: Growing up during Franco regime: anthropometry of the school population of Requena (Valencia), from 1946 to 1964.
Authors: Marrodán Serrano, María Dolores1,2 marrodan@ucm.es, Pedrero-Tomé, Roberto1,3, Gil, Javier Puche4, Cámara-Hueso, Antonio D.5, Ejeda, Noemí López1,2, García-Esteban, María Teresa1, de Espinosa, Marisa González-Montero6
Source: Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición. apr-jun2026, Vol. 76 Issue 2, p128-137. 10p.
Subjects: Anthropometry, Nutritional status, World Health Organization, School enrollment, Retrospective studies, Growth of children
Geographic Terms: Spain
Abstract (English): Introduction: During the Spanish Civil War and the post-war period, a widespread nutritional crisis was documented in Spain, the impact of which on the growth and physical development of the child population deserves to be investigated through specific research. Objective: Analyze the growth and nutritional status of the school population of Requena, a rural municipality in Valencia, based on medical examinations carried out at its secondary school between 1946 and 1964. Materials and methods: Records of 676 schoolchildren of both sexes born between 1937 and 1956, aged between 10 and 18, are analysed. The anthropometric variables contained in the health records are compared with World Health Organization references and with historical and current Spanish series. Results: Anthropometric failure (compared to World Health Organization references) affected approximately one in four schoolchildren. This was primarily due to excess weight and stunted growth or short stature for age, while the prevalence of underweight was low. The height of schoolchildren in Requena was higher than a sample of their peers in the Levantine region but significantly lower than the current Spanish reference. Conclusions: During the period analysed, more than 70% of students had adequate nutritional status, reflecting the relative well-being of Requena at that time although the height was well below current OMS references (Z = -0.70 for men and -0.75 for women). A comparison of schoolchildren in that locality with a historical series and a recent series corroborates the positive secular evolution of child and adolescent height in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Abstract (Spanish): Introducción: durante la Guerra Civil española y el periodo de posguerra se ha documentado una crisis nutricional generalizada en España cuyo impacto en el crecimiento y desarrollo físico de la población infantil merece ser conocido a través de investigaciones específicas. Objetivo: analizar el crecimiento y la condición nutricional de la población escolar de Requena, municipio rural de Valencia, a partir de los reconocimientos médicos realizados en su Instituto de Enseñanza Media entre 1946 y 1964. Materiales y métodos: se analizan registros de 676 escolares de uno y otro sexo nacidos entre 1937-1956, con edades de 10 a 18 años. Las variables antropométricas contenidas en las fichas sanitarias se contrastan con referencias de la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) y con series españolas históricas y actuales. Resultados: el fracaso antropométrico, frente a las referencias de la OMS, afectaba aproximadamente a uno de cada cuatro escolares. Se debía prioritariamente al exceso ponderal y al crecimiento retardado o baja talla para la edad, mientras que la prevalencia de insuficiencia ponderal era pequeña. La estatura de los escolares requenenses era superior a una muestra coetánea de la región levantina, pero significativamente inferior a una referencia actual española. Conclusiones: durante el período analizado más del 70% de los estudiantes tiene una condición nutricional adecuada lo que refleja el relativo bienestar de Requena, en la época mencionada, si bien la talla estaba alejada de las referencias OMS actuales (Z= - 0,70 en varones y - 075 en mujeres). La comparación de los escolares de dicha localidad con una serie histórica y otra reciente corrobora la evolución secular positiva de la estatura infantil y juvenil en la población analizada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: MedicLatina
Description
Abstract:Introduction: During the Spanish Civil War and the post-war period, a widespread nutritional crisis was documented in Spain, the impact of which on the growth and physical development of the child population deserves to be investigated through specific research. Objective: Analyze the growth and nutritional status of the school population of Requena, a rural municipality in Valencia, based on medical examinations carried out at its secondary school between 1946 and 1964. Materials and methods: Records of 676 schoolchildren of both sexes born between 1937 and 1956, aged between 10 and 18, are analysed. The anthropometric variables contained in the health records are compared with World Health Organization references and with historical and current Spanish series. Results: Anthropometric failure (compared to World Health Organization references) affected approximately one in four schoolchildren. This was primarily due to excess weight and stunted growth or short stature for age, while the prevalence of underweight was low. The height of schoolchildren in Requena was higher than a sample of their peers in the Levantine region but significantly lower than the current Spanish reference. Conclusions: During the period analysed, more than 70% of students had adequate nutritional status, reflecting the relative well-being of Requena at that time although the height was well below current OMS references (Z = -0.70 for men and -0.75 for women). A comparison of schoolchildren in that locality with a historical series and a recent series corroborates the positive secular evolution of child and adolescent height in the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:00040622
DOI:10.37527/2026.76.2.006