Body height, body weight, BMI, and nutritional status among male adolescents in Montenegro: a nationwide archival study from 1979 to 1987.

Introduction: Monitoring anthropometric characteristics such as body height and body weight, as well as body mass index (BMI) is central to understanding biological develop¬ment and population health. Montenegro is known for exceptionally tall stature, which is also reflected in other mentioned variables, yet historical national-level data on adolescent growth during the second half of the 20th century have been limited. The aim of this study was to examine secular trends in body height, body weight, BMI, and nutritional status among male adolescents in Montenegro using nationwide archival data from mandatory military medical examinations con¬ducted between 1979 and 1987. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study included 83,274 male adolescents born between 1961 and 1969. Data were obtained from digitized archival medical records collected during standardized pre-recruitment examinations in the former Yugoslav People's Army. The mean age at exami¬nation was 18.06 ± 0.52 years (range: 16.5-25.9), supporting the application of adult BMI classification criteria. Body height, body weight, and BMI were analyzed by birth cohort using analysis of variance and linear regression models, while trends in nutritional status categories were assessed using chi-square tests for trend. Results: The mean body height of the total sample was 176.76 ± 6.91 cm, confirm¬ing that Montenegrin adolescents belonged to one of the tallest populations in Europe during the study period. Although statistically significant differences across cohorts were observed due to the large sample size, effect sizes and regression analyses indicated no meaningful secular changes in body height, body weight, or BMI. Nutritional status analysis showed that 85.9% of participants had normal BMI, while the prevalence of overweight (7.2%) and obesity (0.6%) was low. A modest but statistically significant increase in overweight and obesity prevalence across cohorts was identified. Discussion: This study provides the first compre¬hensive national overview of anthropometric characteristics and nutritional status of male adolescents in Montenegro during the late 20th century. By establishing a relevant historical baseline based on standardized nationwide archival data, the findings provide an essential reference for future analyses of long-term secular trends and contemporary public health comparisons.