Why are people getting taller?

Great Debates
1

I’ve witness several generations of Canadians and one thing is clear. People are getting taller.

Although I myself don’t qualify, I’ve seen a vast majority of my male peers achieve height significantly in excess of their fathers. now I’m seeing a lot of boys who are significantly taller than anyone I’ve ever met in my high school days. Just the other day I was introduced to the 15 year old son son of a 6’2" father who was all of 6’ 9" tall. It is very disconcerting talking up to a 15 year old. By the way, one of my daughters is as tall as me.

Then I come across this site pertinent to my ethnicity.

Some interesting facts are asserted.

The Dutch have replaced the Plains Indians as the tallest people in the world.

The Dutch have continued to increase their height while the Scandinavians stopped getting taller 40 years ago.

The British and North Americans are still an inch or two short of the Scandinavians.

Protestant Dutch young men are two inches taller than Catholic Dutch young men.
However this also correlates with latitude given the protestants dominate the north and catholic dominate the south so I understand.

One’s religion should have no bearing on their height should it?

A few minutes of latitude shouldn’t affect your height should it. If so, what about the Scandinavians?

Do the Dutch citizens eat better than the rest of us? Do protestants eat differently than catholics. There is no longer a prohibition on meat on Fridays.

Over all, the previous explanations for the increasing height of people today is better food, yet we all know that lack of proper nutrition has developed into a huge problem in the western world.

I would like feed back either supporting that we are eating better today with each successive generation or providing another cause. If you can, try to explain the oddball stats on the Dutch height I just presented.

There is no way to explain the increasing height of humanity genetically, since presumably we aren’t developing new alleles are we?

I’ll tell you what comes to my mind. I think the answer may just be found in the pollution of our earth or in the food additives of our processed foods, causing some of us to react with increased production of growth hormone. I’m only 5’ 9" and I and my short siblings were primarily raised on meals prepared from scratch within the home.

Got a better explanation?

2

I think information about world heights from a website trying to sell growth pills is not a wise place to start a debate.

3

More food, better food, and junk food. Even animals that eat from human garbage dumps are getting bigger. I think Cecil did a column on it, but I can’t find it.

4

The facts are basically correct though from what I have read from more authoritative sources. I have wondered the same thing.

The OP does make the claim that nutrition is worse now than it was in times past. My question is worse for what? It doesn’t seem to be for growing to full potential. People are getting fatter and consuming more calories in general. Whether that is bad or not is subject to its own debate but people generally aren’t deprived for raw food intake or vitamins. Fortified foods are everywhere.

Diets have changed a great deal at the same time that heights have increased. That is where I would look first. Although processed and mass produced foods may be bad from a holistic approach they tend to blast supplies of whatever a body needs to grow throughout times of growth. The shear variety of foods make verything needed available to the body whereas someone on a farm might only get to eat a couple of dozen basic food ingrediants.

5

What about natural selection?

As a 5’7" tall guy I find it difficult to find a woman who considers me too short to be truly attractive (and this comes from several female friends most of whom are shorter than me and have told me to fudge and say I am 5’8" as that sounds better). Kidjanot.

I have perused dating websites and women frequently will not touch a guy shorter than they are and quite often explicitly state a height requirement. I find it interesting when I see a 5’ woman demanding no one shorter than 6’ respond to her ad. A bit anecdotal I’ll admit and I know some women who are not hung up on a guy’s height but look around at how many couples you see where the woman is taller than the man (not including shoes). It seems there is a fairly strong desire for taller guys as mates which would lead to…taller kids.

6

That should be:

As a 5’7" tall guy I find it difficult to find a woman who does not consider me too short to be truly attractive.

(And I should note they qualify the above with saying I am cute…just another 4-6" would seal the deal for me)

7

As we’re using up the world’s resources, there are fewer and fewer of them. Gravity is based on the mass of the two attracting objects, so since we’re shrinking the earth, we have to grow taller ourselves to compensate just in order to keep our weight the same.

Daniel

8

There was a New Yorker article a few years ago about growing. Apparently, Americans aren’t getting taller.

9

People aren’t getting taller. Everything’s getting smaller!

10

Overall better nutrition is a better explanation than one drawn from anecdotal data about your family. After all, your own OP begs the question: Are Scandinavians exposed to less pollution than the Dutch?

11

The change is happening too fast.

12

Very interesting article
Re pygmies

13

My son is growing taller. I tried to get him to say why he’s doing it, but he clammed up. It must be a conspiracy.

14

Mine too. And nutrition sure as hell isn’t responsible. How are they doing that?

15

It’s just Holland that’s getting so tall–I blame the lack of mountains, mostly. Then again, aren’t mountain-dwelling people usually fairly short? A quarter of Holland is below sea level, right? The lower you live, the taller you get?

Maybe he’s been Hollandified–the Hollandaise are a notoriously tall breed; I’ve heard their newborns are up to three feet tall. This thread by what seems to be the airborne variation implying, nay, suggesting vertical superiority as the epitome of human evolution is just what I was expecting as a starting point for their sneeky bid, based on their apparent evolutionary prowess, for world domination.

It has begun.

16

Actually according to the New Yorker link, the Dutch used to be among the shortest people in Europe. They had their world domination several centuries ago when they were short.

Have the Scandinavians quit smoking pot ?

17

Yes. Hashish turned out to be easier to smuggle and considerably more potent. Are you suggesting war on the Pygmies? Man, you people are evil…