Auxology

Auxology is a meta-term covering the study of all aspects of human physical growth; though it is also a fundamental of biology, generally. Auxology is a highly multi-disciplinary science involving health sciences / medicine (pediatrics, general practice, endocrinology, neuroendocrinology, physiology, epidemiology), and to a lesser extent: nutrition, genetics, anthropology, anthropometry, ergonomics, history, economic history, economics, socioeconomics, sociology, public health, and psychology, among others.

Etymology

Auxology: aux-, pertaining to growth, from Greek auxē, "to increase"; -o-, generic phoenetic combining form, here denoting relationship to growth, stimulation, or acceleration; -logy, pertaining to the study of or science of, from Middle English -logie, from Old French, from Latin -logia, from Greek -logiā, from legein, "to speak", and -logos "word", "speech" and "one who deals with", thus "the character or department of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject)".

The name of the plant hormone Auxin (which promotes growth in plants) comes from the same root.

Some Auxologists

• Joerg Baten [1] (economist, anthropometric historian)
• Barry Bogin [2] (anthropologist)
• Noel Cameron [3] (pediatrician)
• J. W. Drukker [4] (economist, historian, ergonomist)
• Stanley Engerman [5] (economist)
• Robert Fogel [6] (economist)
• Theo Gasser [7] (statistician, human biologist)
• Michael Healy (statistician)
• Francis E. Johnston [8] (anthropologist)
• John Komlos [9] (economist, anthropometric historian)
• Gregory Livshits [10] (human biologist)
• Robert Margo [11] (economist)
• Alex F. Roche [12] (pediatrician)
• Lawrence M. Schell [13] (anthropologist)
• Nevin Scrimshaw [14] (nutritionist)
• Anne Sheehy (human biologist)
• Richard Steckel [15] (economist, anthropometric historian)
• Pak Sunyoung [16] (anthropologist)
• James M. Tanner [17] (pediatrician)
• Vincent Tassenaar [18] (historian)
• Lucio Vinicius [19] (anthropologist, human biologist)

See also

• Nature versus nurture
• Human variability
• Human development (biology)
• Human biology
• Standard of living
• Quality of life
• Malnutrition
• Human height
• Human weight
• Socioeconomics
• Anthropometric history
• Rod Usher

External links

• International Association for Human Auxology
• A Tall Story for Our Time (Time Magazine)
• Tall Tales: New Approaches to the Standard of Living (Oberlin Alumni Magazine)
• The tall and short of it - range of heights in human demonstrates plasticity of human species (Discover)

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