South Korean women have grown the most in recent years — by 20 cm. Why?
Today, young people are on average 10 cm taller than their ancestors a century ago, the BBC reports .
A 2016 study, comparing people born in 1896 and 1996, showed that South Korean women and Iranian men grew the most — by 20 cm and 17 cm respectively. This is due to improved nutrition, reduced incidence of disease, vaccination, and many other factors, says Dr. Aravinda Guntupalli, a senior lecturer in global public health at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.
Not everything depends on genetics. Genetics determines 80-90% of height, the rest is the role of nutrition, diseases, childhood conditions, and medicine. Therefore, the average height of large groups of people indicates the standard of living even when other data is unavailable.
In human history, there have been two turning points related to height.
The first was the transition to agriculture (10-12 thousand years ago). After this, people became shorter, by an average of 2.8 cm. Hunter-gatherers ate more animal food, while farmers lived in unsanitary conditions next to animals, got sick more often, and worked harder.
The second moment was the Industrial Revolution. It also initially worsened the situation: cramped housing, dirt, exhausting labor. Only later, when incomes increased and sanitation, better housing, and medicine appeared, did human height begin to increase rapidly.
Although South Korea underwent industrialization later, its rapid economic development was accompanied by one of the most impressive gains in average height recorded in the last century — 15 cm in men and 20 cm in women, according to a 2016 analysis.
But there was an unexpected twist. After the Black Death pandemic in the 14th century, the average height in England increased from approximately 170 to 174 cm. A possible reason is that, due to a shortage of labor, wages increased — and people began to live better.
Now, the average height of those born in 1996 is 171 cm for men and 159 cm for women.
In rich countries, growth seems to have stopped. Perhaps a genetic limit has been reached, or fast food and a sedentary lifestyle are influencing height.
Researchers suggest that the height difference between the rich and the poor, both between countries and within them, is likely to increase.
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