I was reading on some web sites about some Scott named “Angus Macaskill” and it mentioned he was the tallest “true giant” at 7’9". Just curious what’s a “true giant” and how does this differ from Wadlow at near 9’.(Do they just mean the tallest guy who wasn’t tall because of some disease?)
Yes
I Robert Wadlow had a swollen petuitary gland which resulted in his abnormal size (8’11"). True giantism is a genetic trait, like dwarfism, it also results in the body having different proportions.
Hmmm, I don’t know about that. I tried posting a question a while back about how big “normal” humans can get without some kind of medical condition factoring into large size, but didn’t get any positive answers.
AFAIK, all the giants (say >7’) I’ve ever seen shows on have had the cause of their size explained; I’ve never seen anyone proclaimed to be naturally 8 feet tall and living to a normal age.
I found two web pages, one about human growth hormone , the other about giant cats - but this last one has some definitions about various types of giantism and human versions. Just scroll down until you come across the parts about pituitary gigantism and acromegaly.
From the second website:
"*True giantism is not the same as constitutional large size or selective breeding from large individuals to produce large (or larger) offspring. The condition is not genetic (there are no specific genes causing it), and therefore not inherited, but some families seem to carry genes that encourage the condition.
The main cause of giantism in humans is related to the pituitary gland or to a pituitary tumour (pituitary adenoma) producing an excess of growth hormone either during the main growing period or continuing to produce growth hormone after growth should have stopped. When an excess of growth hormone is present before sexual maturity, it affects all bones and organs and results in a large, but well-proportioned, individual. As well as lengthening, the bones have thickened and the internal organs have kept pace with the increase in body size.
Where growth continues into adulthood it results in a condition known as acromegaly. Only those bones which can grow lengthways can continue to grow, elsewhere in the body the bones have fused and growth is not possible. Human acromegalic giants become gangly, with large hands and feet, a jutting jaw (lantern jaw) and widely-spaced teeth. The leg bones are long, but are not proportionately thick to bear the increased weight, creating a shambling gait or crippling the individual entirely. The thickening of the bones and cartilage can restrict the function of the heart, lungs and other internal organs which have difficulty coping with the demands placed on them by an over-large frame. Acromegalic individuals are prone to hypertension (high blood pressure), breathing problems and fatigue. There is an overgrowth of soft tissues of the upper airway, causing an enlarged tongue and Adam’s Apple, a small windpipe and potential breathing obstruction. The vocal cords may be affected, causing a deep voice. There is a knock-on effect on other glands which can result in common diabetes, hypothyroidism, hypoadrenalism and reduction in sex hormones. If untreated, the effects of pituitary giantism are crippling and eventually deadly.*"
There are certain ethnic groups of people who are on the average quite a bit taller than the rest of us, but I don’t think these fall into the “giant” class.
By true giant (and refering to Angus Macaskill), they probably mean relativly normally proportioned and able to lead a normal life - not a wheelchair bound circus side-show exhibit. I’ve read a bit about this guy, and he seemed to just do regular things like run a little store, plow his field, and so on… but I’m not really sure about what exactly they mean.
No.
“True giants” and “true dwarfs” do not have stunted or exaggerated body parts. Gigantism resulting from for instance acromegaly which Robert Wadlow suffered from will tend to overgrow and under-grow certain body parts.
It’s not as simple as saying that it’s genetics this and genetics that. There genetic disorders like Marfan Syndrome and Sotos Syndrome that can result in unusual growth. In these cases the result will also be a disproportionate body.
We who are just unusually tall, but not due to pathological reasons are just bigger versions of the species with proportions within the normal variance as are those that are abnormally short.
I don’t care that much but for the record I should mention that tall people can take offense at the use of the epithet giant as do unusually short people to the term dwarf. The terms are not used in medical circles anymore since it’s like saying; “You’re very short/tall, but normal,” and this begs for a definition of normal and is an oxymoron.
Due to the psychological problems attached to both extreme shortness and tallness growth in children with projections into one of the extremes is sometimes altered with hormones, although this is highly controversial since we are otherwise of normal health and this can have very adverse side effects.
An indication of our normal health is that in difference to people suffering from growth disorders even the very short and very tall tend to have fairly normal life spans.
Zelda Rubinstein once said to me, in her squeakiest poltergeist voice; “They are the weird ones. You and I are cut from the opposite ends of the same wood. The good wood.”
Sparc
Again, please avoid the term giant, it’s quite offensive. For the record some averages and extremes:
**Average height from [Arjan's Tall Page](http://www.tallpages.com/uk/):**
US Germany Japan Netherlands
Male 175.5 cm 174.5 cm 165.5 cm 182.5 cm
5’9’’ 1/8 5’8’’ 3/4 5’5’’ 1/8 5’11’’ 7/8
Female 162.5 cm 163.5 cm 153.0 cm 169.6 cm
5’4’’ 5’4’’ 1/4 5’0’’ 1/4 5’6’’ 3/7
As far as I know heights above 245 cm (8’0’’) have never been recorded in non-pathological humans. The tallest man alive is one Tunisian gentleman by the name Radhouane Charbib who stands 235.9 cm (7’8’’ 7/8), as far as I know his height is not the result of any disorder. The tallest woman alive is a certain Sandy Allen of Illinois measuring 231 cm 7’7’’, she suffers from acromegaly and has had her pituary gland operated at adult age to stunt her continued growth. Poor circulation in her extremities has her bound to a wheelchair since a couple of years. She is 47 years old.
Sparc