Human height
[8] When populations share genetic backgrounds and environmental factors, average height is frequently characteristic within the group.
Exceptional height variation (around 20% deviation from average) within such a population is sometimes due to gigantism or dwarfism, which are medical conditions caused by specific genes or endocrine abnormalities.
[9] The development of human height can serve as an indicator of two key welfare components, namely nutritional quality and health.
[10] In regions of poverty or warfare, environmental factors like chronic malnutrition during childhood or adolescence may result in delayed growth and/or marked reductions in adult stature even without the presence of any of these medical conditions.
Average height is relevant to the measurement of the health and wellness standard of living and quality of life of populations.
[18][19][20] These same studies show that children born to a young mother are more likely to have below-average educational and behavioural development, again suggesting an ultimate cause of resources and family status rather than a purely biological explanation.
Differences in human height is 60−80% heritable, according to several twin studies[23] and has been considered polygenic since the Mendelian-biometrician debate a hundred years ago.
[citation needed] The effect of environment on height is illustrated by studies performed by anthropologist Barry Bogin and coworkers of Guatemala Mayan children living in the United States.
[31] The Nilotic people are characterized as having long legs, narrow bodies and short trunks, an adaptation to hot weather.
As the study points out, Nilotic people "may attain greater height if privileged with favourable environmental conditions during early childhood and adolescence, allowing full expression of the genetic material.
Attributed as a significant reason for the trend of increasing height in parts of Europe are the egalitarian populations where proper medical care and adequate nutrition had been relatively equally distributed as of 2004.
[35] Changes in diet (nutrition) and a general rise in quality of health care and standard of living are the cited factors in Asian populations.
[17] Developing countries such as Guatemala have rates of stunting in children under 5 living as high as 82.2% in Totonicapán, and 49.8% nationwide.
For example, Robert Wadlow, the tallest human known to verifiable history, developed difficulty in walking as his height increased throughout his life.
Samaras and Elrick, in the Western Journal of Medicine, demonstrate an inverse correlation between height and longevity in several mammals including humans.
[40] Women whose height is under 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) may have a small pelvis, resulting in such complications during childbirth as shoulder dystocia.
These areas of evidence include studies involving longevity, life expectancy, centenarians, male vs. female longevity differences, mortality advantages of shorter people, survival findings, smaller body size due to calorie restriction, and within-species body size differences.
[46][dubious – discuss] In medicine, height is measured to monitor child development, this is a better indicator of growth than weight in the long term.
[54] Nevertheless, Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) and several prominent world leaders of the 20th century, such as Vladimir Lenin, Benito Mussolini, Nicolae Ceaușescu and Joseph Stalin were of below-average height.
Further, growing evidence suggests that height may be a proxy for confidence, which is likewise strongly correlated with occupational success.
[57] The tallest man in modern history was Robert Wadlow (1918−1940), from Illinois, United States, who was 272 cm (8 ft 11 in) at the time of his death.
[58] The tallest woman in modern history was Zeng Jinlian (1964−1982) of China, who measured 246 cm (8 ft 1 in) at the time of her death.
[63] Human height worldwide sharply declined with the advent of the Neolithic Revolution, likely due to significantly less protein consumption by agriculturalists as compared with hunter-gatherers.
[68][69] In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, people of European descent in North America were far taller than those in Europe and were one of the tallest in the world.
However, at the end of the nineteenth century and in the middle of the first globalization period, heights between rich and poor countries began to diverge.
In the late twentieth century, however, technologies and trade became more important, decreasing the impact of local availability of agricultural products.
[78] In the late nineteenth century, the Netherlands was a land renowned for its short population, but as of 2012 Dutch people were among the world's tallest, with young men averaging 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) tall.
[80][81] A 2004 report citing a 2003 UNICEF study on the effects of malnutrition in North Korea, due to "successive famines," found young adult males to be significantly shorter.
Working on data of Indonesia, the study by Baten, Stegl and van der Eng suggests a positive relationship of economic development and average height.
In a clinical situation, height measurements are seldom taken more often than once per office visit, which may mean sampling taking place a week to several months apart.
