Grip Strength of School Children, Saginaw, Michigan: 1899 and 1964

In 1899, Carmen reported grip strength data on 1,507 children, ages 10–18, who represented about 20 percent of the school population of Saginaw, Michigan. A 6 percent sample of the children attending the Saginaw public schools in 1962–63 were tested using the same type of grip dynamometer. The 1962–63 children were advanced by about 1–1½ years (5 kg) when compared to the 1899 sample. This difference is probably due to the fact that children are bigger now than they were when Carmen reported her data.