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 Americans, once among the world's tallest people, have
dropped from having men and women at 3rd and 4th in the global
height rankings a 100 years earlier, to placing 37th and 42nd
respectively in 2014.
The research, led by scientists at Imperial College London and
published in the journal eLife, also found some nations have
stopped growing over the past 30 to 40 years, despite having
spurts at the start of the century studied.
The United States was one of the first wealthy countries to
plateau, followed by others including Britain, Finland, and
Japan. Meanwhile, people in Spain and Italy and many countries
in Latin America and East Asia are still gaining height.
In contrast, some nations in sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa
and the Middle East have seen average heights decline over the
past three to four decades.
Human height is strongly influenced by nutrition and
environmental factors, although genetic factors can also play a
role in individuals. Children and teens who are better nourished
and live in better environments tend to be taller.
Research suggests a mother's health and nutrition during
pregnancy may also play a role in how tall her children grow.
Height also has lifelong consequences. Some studies have found
that taller people tend to live longer, get a better education
and earn more. But being tall may also increase some health
risks, with studies linking height to a higher risk of
developing ovarian and prostate cancers.
"This study gives us a picture of the health of nations over the
past century," said Majid Ezzati, an Imperial professor of
public health. He said the findings underlined the need "to
address children and adolescents' environment and nutrition on a
global scale."
The 800-strong research team, which worked with the World Health
Organization, used data from various sources including military
conscription figures, health and nutrition population surveys
and epidemiological studies.
The scientists use these to generate height information for
18-year-olds in 1914 through to 18-year-olds in 2014.
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They found that Iranian men have gained an average of 16.5
centimeters (cm) in height, and South Korean women 20.2 cm.
The height of men and women in Britain has increased by around 11 cm
over the past century, while the height of U.S. men and women has
risen by 6 cm and 5 cm. Chinese men and women have gained around 11
cm and 10 cm.
The study also found that:
*Dutch men are the tallest, with an average height of 182.5 cm.
Latvian women are the tallest, with an average height of 170 cm.
• Men from East Timor were the smallest in the world in 2014, with
an average height of 160 cm. Women from Guatemala were the smallest
in 2014, with an average height of 149 cm.
• The difference between the tallest and shortest countries in 2014 was
about 23 cm for men – an increase of 4 cm on the height gap in 1914.
The height difference between the tallest and shortest countries for
women has remained the same across the century, at about 20 cm.
• The height difference between men and women has on average
remained largely unchanged over 100 years – the average height gap
was about 11 cm in 1914 and 12 cm in 2014.
• Australian men in 2014 were the only non-European nationality in
the top 25 tallest in the world. The nations with the tallest men in
2014 (1914 ranking in brackets): 1. Netherlands (12) 2. Belgium (33)
3. Estonia (4) 4. Latvia (13) 5. Denmark (9) 6. Bosnia and
Herzegovina (19) 7. Croatia (22) 8. Serbia (30) 9. Iceland (6) 10.
Czech Republic (24) The nations with the tallest women in 2014 (1914
ranking in brackets): 1. Latvia (28) 2. Netherlands (38) 3. Estonia
(16) 4. Czech Republic (69) 5. Serbia (93) 6. Slovakia (26) 7.
Denmark (11) 8. Lithuania (41) 9. Belarus (42) 10. Ukraine (43)
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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