This book analyzes biological and sociocultural factors that influence nutritional status, physical growth, development and maturation of children and adolescents in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries in the perspective of human ecology.  Chapters in this book bring together both theoretical and empirical studies that take into account human biological and environmental conditions to understand how ethnic diversity, culturally determined lifestyle and dietary habits influence biological variation of human growth and nutrition in nine LAC countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru.  The book is divided into three sections. Chapters in the first section analyze nutritional and epidemiological aspects of child growth in the region. Articles in the second section focus on methods to evaluate human growth, development, and maturation.