British Army recruits: 100 years of heights and weights.

The heights and weights of Army recruits have been placed on record since 1860 in Reports of the Army Medical Department with certain gaps, particularly during the two World Wars and the period between them, until their publication was discontinued in 1975. Mean values corrected where necessary for minimum standards of height and weight--in order that the results should represent the civilian population from which they were drawn--are presented, showing the trends over a century. The Quetelet index w/h2, an indicator of weight corrected for height, is recommended as a measure of obesity for the Army. The value to the Army Medical Services of a continuously published record of heights and weights is assessed, and the hope is expressed that publication of these data will be recommenced.