Measuring Race and Nation: Pediatric Anthropometry and Child Growth Charts in the Philippines (1909–2008)

Abstract

This essay traces the development of pediatric anthropometry in the Philippines. During the American colonial and early postcolonial periods, anthropometric data based on the physical attributes of American childrenwere used to measure the growth of Filipino children. Then from the 1960s to 1980s, there were a demand for and official shift to local standards. By the late 1990s, however, the country adopted international standards endorsed by the World Health Organization. This essay argues that, aside from mirroring global public health currents, these shifting standards were informed by notions of the measured body in figurations of racial and national identity.

KEYWORDS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY STUDIES • POSTCOLONIAL STUDIES •COLONIALISM • NATIONAL IDENTITY • VERTICALITY