Anthropomorphic Patterns And Smoking In A Nigerian Population

Abstract

Anthropomorphic measurements in terms of height, weight and body mass index determnied in 5000-volunteered males and females. These include 2000 smokers (1500 males and 5000 females) aged between 16 and 56 (±SD; 38 ± 16) years, 1000 ex-smokers (700 males and 300 females) in the same age bracket; and 2000 non-smokers (1000 males and 1000 females) aged 16 to 56 (mean ±SD; 39 ± 17)years, The group who had never smoked which formed the control group. When compared to other groups, the males that smoked tobacco were taller than all other groups; possibly because of the increased tallness, the male smokers also weighed much more than each of the other groups. It is possible that tobacco smoking increases the secretion of the male sex hormone testosterone, which promotes increased linear growth in males. On their other hand it may be possible that the gene which codes for tallness in men also encode male craving for tobacco. For tobacco smoking, which is implicated in many health hazards, male tallness may probably be the only health benefit.


Key words: Tobacco smoking, males, females, anthropomorphic measurements


Journal of Experimental and Clinical Anatomy Vol. 4 (1): 2005 12-14