ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the beginning of the nutritional transition in relation to height in male populations of the Canary Islands. With military recruitment data for the cohorts of 1860 and 1915, it shows the insular advantage (height premium) compared to the average height of the Spanish populations of the Iberian Peninsula. The secular trend for height was positive. The increase in height of 2.4 cm during the expansive cycle of the island economy was comparable to that of the Spanish average. It also highlights the biological variability of the heights,probably due to the genetic composition of the island populations,and that the average urban height was greater than the average rural height. Finally,we find that height inequality increased in years when average height decreased,especially between 1866–1880 and 1900–1905. The Canarian height premium is analysed based on the insular environment,climate,economic cyclesand diet.
