Human height#Race and height

File: Human height growth per month, United States.png

The study of height is known as auxology.Hermanussen, Michael (ed) (2013) Auxology – Studying Human Growth and Development, Schweizerbart, {{ISBN|9783510652785}}.

Growth has long been recognized as a measure of the health of individuals, hence part of the reasoning for the use of growth charts. For individuals, as indicators of health problems, growth trends are tracked for significant deviations, and growth is also monitored for significant deficiency from genetic expectations. Genetics is a major factor in determining the height of individuals, though it is far less influential regarding differences among populations. Average height is relevant to the measurement of the health and wellness standard of living and quality of life of populations.{{Cite journal | last1 = Bolton-Smith | first1 = C. | title = Accuracy of the estimated prevalence of obesity from self reported height and weight in an adult Scottish population | doi = 10.1136/jech.54.2.143 | journal = Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health | volume = 54 | issue = 2 | pages = 143–148 | year = 2000 | pmid = 10715748 | pmc = 1731630}}

{{anchor|Growth Spurt}}Humans grow fastest (other than in the womb) as infants and toddlers, rapidly declining from a maximum at birth to roughly age 2, tapering to a slowly declining rate, and then, during the pubertal growth spurt (with an average girl starting her puberty and pubertal growth spurt at 10 years{{cite web |title=Early Puberty in Girls |url=https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/conditions/early-puberty-in-girls |website=Nationwide Children's |access-date=5 June 2020}} and an average boy starting his puberty and pubertal growth spurt at 12 years{{cite web |title=Early Puberty in Boys |url=https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/conditions/early-puberty-in-boys |website=Nationwide Children's |access-date=5 June 2020}}{{cite web |title=Is Your Child Growing Normally? |url=https://www.magicfoundation.org/Is-My-Child-Growing/ |website=THE MAGIC FOUNDATION |access-date=20 June 2020}}), a rapid rise to a second maximum (at around 11−12 years for an average female, and 13−14 years for an average male), followed by a steady decline to zero. The average female growth speed trails off to zero at about 15 or 16 years, whereas the average male curve continues for approximately 3 more years, going to zero at about 18−19, although there is limited research to suggest minor height growth after the age of 19 in males.{{Cite journal |last1=Hulanicka |first1=B. |last2=Kotlarz |first2=K. |date=1983 |title=The final phase of growth in height |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6638938/ |journal=Annals of Human Biology |volume=10 |issue=5 |pages=429–433 |doi=10.1080/03014468300006621 |issn=0301-4460 |pmid=6638938}} These are also critical periods where stressors such as malnutrition (or even severe child neglect) have the greatest effect.

Moreover, the health of a mother throughout her life, especially during her critical period and pregnancy, has a role. A healthier child and adult develops a body that is better able to provide optimal prenatal conditions. The pregnant mother's health is essential for herself but also the fetus as gestation is itself a critical period for an embryo/fetus, though some problems affecting height during this period are resolved by catch-up growth assuming childhood conditions are good. Thus, there is a cumulative generation effect such that nutrition and health over generations influence the height of descendants to varying degrees.

The age of the mother also has some influence on her child's height. Studies in modern times have observed a gradual increase in height with maternal age, though these early studies suggest that trend is due to various socio-economic situations that select certain demographics as being more likely to have a first birth early in the mother's life.[http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v57/n1/fig_tab/1601508t1.html#figure-title Table 1. Association of 'biological' and demographic variables and height. Figures are coefficients (95% confidence intervals) adjusted for each of the variables shown] in {{Cite journal|vauthors=Rona RJ, Mahabir D, Rocke B, Chinn S, Gulliford MC |title=Social inequalities and children's height in Trinidad and Tobago |journal=European Journal of Clinical Nutrition |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=143–50 |year=2003 |pmid=12548309 |doi=10.1038/SJ.ejcn.1601508|doi-access=free }}{{Cite journal |title=Birth Outcomes by Mother's Age At First Birth in the Philippines |first1=Jane E. |last1=Miller |year=1993 |journal=International Family Planning Perspectives |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=98–102 |doi=10.2307/2133243 |jstor=2133243}}{{Cite journal|url=https://ideas.repec.org/p/ese/iserwp/2003-31.html|title=Outcomes in Childhood and Adulthood by Mother's Age at Birth: evidence from the 1970 British Cohort Study|first=David J. |last=Pevalin |journal=ISER Working Papers |year=2003}} 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.

In 1988, it was observed that first-born males were shorter than later-born males.{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1080/03014468800009581| last1 = Hermanussen | first1 = M.| last2 = Hermanussen | first2 = B.| last3 = Burmeister | first3 = J.| title = The association between birth order and adult stature| journal = Annals of Human Biology| volume = 15| issue = 2| pages = 161–165| year = 1988| pmid = 3355105}} However, in 2013, the reverse observation was made.{{cite journal|last1=Myrskyla|first1=M|title=The association between height and birth order: evidence from 652,518 Swedish men.|journal=Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health|date=July 2013|volume=67|issue=7|pages=571–7|pmid=23645856|doi=10.1136/jech-2012-202296|s2cid=19510422|url=https://google.com}} The study authors suggest that the cause may be socioeconomic in nature.

The precise relationship between genetics and environment is complex and uncertain. Differences in human height is 60−80% heritable, according to several twin studies{{cite journal|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-much-of-human-height/|title=How much of human height is genetic and how much is due to nutrition? |author=Lai, Chao-Qiang |journal=Scientific American|date=11 December 2006}} and has been considered polygenic since the Mendelian–biometrician debate a hundred years ago. A genome-wide association (GWA) study of more than 180,000 individuals has identified hundreds of genetic variants in at least 180 loci associated with adult human height.{{cite journal|title=Hundreds of variants clustered in genomic loci and biological pathways affect human height|journal=Nature|year=2010|issue=7317|pages= 832–838 |vauthors=Lango Allen H, etal |volume=467|doi=10.1038/nature09410|pmid=20881960|pmc=2955183|bibcode=2010Natur.467..832L}} The number of individuals has since been expanded to 253,288 individuals and the number of genetic variants identified is 697 in 423 genetic loci.{{cite journal|title=Defining the role of common variation in the genomic and biological architecture of adult human height|journal=Nature Genetics|year=2014|issue=11|pages=1173–1186 |vauthors=Wood AR, etal |pmid=25282103|doi=10.1038/ng.3097|volume=46|pmc=4250049}} In a separate study of body proportion using sitting-height ratio, it reports that these 697 variants can be partitioned into three specific classes: (1) variants that primarily determine leg length, (2) variants that primarily determine spine and head length, or (3) variants that affect overall body size. This gives insights into the biological mechanisms underlying how these 697 genetic variants affect overall height.{{cite journal|title=Genome-wide Analysis of Body Proportion Classifies Height-Associated Variants by Mechanism of Action and Implicates Genes Important for Skeletal Development|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|year=2015 |vauthors=Chan Y, etal |pmid=25865494|doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2015.02.018|volume=96|issue=5|pages=695–708|pmc=4570286}} These loci do not only determine height, but other features or characteristics. As an example, 4 of the 7 loci identified for intracranial volume had previously been discovered for human height.{{Cite journal|last1=Adams|first1=Hieab H H|last2=Hibar|first2=Derrek P|last3=Chouraki|first3=Vincent|last4=Stein|first4=Jason L|last5=Nyquist|first5=Paul A|last6=Rentería|first6=Miguel E|last7=Trompet|first7=Stella|last8=Arias-Vasquez|first8=Alejandro|last9=Seshadri|first9=Sudha|year=2016|title=Novel genetic loci underlying human intracranial volume identified through genome-wide association|journal=Nature Neuroscience|volume=19|issue=12|pages=1569–1582|doi=10.1038/nn.4398|pmid=27694991|pmc=5227112}}

Height, like other phenotypic traits, is determined by a combination of genetics and environmental factor. A child's height based on parental heights is subject to regression toward the mean, therefore extremely tall or short parents will likely have correspondingly taller or shorter offspring, but their offspring will also likely be closer to average height than the parents themselves. Genetic potential and several hormones, minus illness, is a basic determinant for height. Other factors include the genetic response to external factors such as diet, exercise, environment, and life circumstances.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

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. In the early 1970s, when Bogin first visited Guatemala, he observed that Mayan Indian men averaged {{convert|157|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} in height and the women averaged {{convert|142|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. Bogin took another series of measurements after the Guatemalan Civil War, during which up to a million Guatemalans fled to the United States. He discovered that Maya refugees, who ranged from six to twelve years old, were significantly taller than their Guatemalan counterparts.{{Cite journal | volume = 19 | issue = 2 | pages = 40–44 | last = Bogin | first = Barry | title = The tall and the short of it | journal = Discover | access-date = 26 April 2013 | year = 1998 | url = https://growtallernatural.com/tallshort }}{{Dead link|date=November 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} By 2000, the American Maya were {{convert|10.24|cm|in|1}} taller than the Guatemalan Maya of the same age, largely due to better nutrition and health care. Bogin also noted that American Maya children had relatively longer legs, averaging {{convert|7.02|cm|in|1}} longer than the Guatemalan Maya (a significantly lower sitting height ratio).{{Cite journal | last1 = Bogin | first1 = B. | last2 = Rios | first2 = L. | doi = 10.1016/S1095-6433(02)00294-5 | title = Rapid morphological change in living humans: Implications for modern human origins | journal = Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A | volume = 136 | pages = 71–84 | year = 2003 | pmid = 14527631| issue=1}}{{cite web |author=Krawitz, Jan |url=https://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/bigenough/special_heightgap_04.html |title=P.O.V. - Big Enough |publisher=PBS |date=28 June 2006 |access-date=22 January 2011 |archive-date=30 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430043527/http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2005/bigenough/special_heightgap_04.html |url-status=dead }}

The Nilotic peoples of Sudan such as the Shilluk and Dinka have been described as some of the tallest in the world. Dinka Ruweng males investigated by Roberts in 1953−1954 were on average {{convert|181|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} tall, and Shilluk males averaged {{convert|182|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{Cite journal | last1 = Roberts | first1 = D. F. | last2 = Bainbridge | first2 = D. R. | doi = 10.1002/ajpa.1330210309 | title = Nilotic physique | journal = American Journal of Physical Anthropology | volume = 21 | issue = 3 | pages = 341–370 | year = 1963 | pmid = 14159970}} The Nilotic people are characterized as having long legs, narrow bodies and short trunks, an adaptation to hot weather.{{cite journal|page=26 |journal=Planet Earth |date=Summer 2006 |url=http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/planetearth/2006/summer/sum06-skeleton.pdf |title=Skeleton key |author=Stock, Jay |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810003347/http://www.nerc.ac.uk/publications/planetearth/2006/summer/sum06-skeleton.pdf |archive-date=10 August 2007 |df=dmy-all }} However, male Dinka and Shilluk refugees measured in 1995 in Southwestern Ethiopia were on average only {{convert|176|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} and {{convert|172|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} tall, respectively. 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."{{Cite journal|author=Chali D |title=Anthropometric measurements of the Nilotic tribes in a refugee camp |journal=Ethiopian Medical Journal |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=211–7 |year=1995 |pmid=8674486}} Before fleeing, these refugees were subject to privation as a consequence of the succession of civil wars in their country from 1955 to the present.

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.{{Cite journal | last1 = Komlos | first1 = J. | last2 = Baur | first2 = M. | doi = 10.1016/j.ehb.2003.12.006 | title = From the tallest to (one of) the fattest: The enigmatic fate of the American population in the 20th century | journal = Economics & Human Biology | volume = 2 | pages = 57–74 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15463993| issue=1| citeseerx = 10.1.1.651.9270 | s2cid = 14291466 }} The uneven distribution of nutritional resources makes it more plausible for individuals with better access to resources to grow taller, while individuals with worse access to resources have a lessened chance of growing taller.{{Cite journal|last1=Baten|first1=Joerg|last2=Moradi|first2=Alexander|date=2005|title=Inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa: New Data and New Insights from Anthropometric Estimates|journal=World Development|volume=33|issue=8|pages=1233–1265|doi=10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.04.010}}

Changes in diet (nutrition) and a general rise in quality of health care and standard of living are the cited factors in Asian populations. Malnutrition including chronic undernutrition and acute malnutrition is known to have caused stunted growth in various populations.{{Cite journal | last1 = De Onis | first1 = M. | last2 = Blössner | first2 = M. | last3 = Borghi | first3 = E. | doi = 10.1017/S1368980011001315 | title = Prevalence and trends of stunting among pre-school children, 1990–2020 | journal = Public Health Nutrition | volume = 15 | issue = 1 | pages = 142–148 | year = 2011 | pmid = 21752311| doi-access = free }} This has been seen in North Korea, parts of Africa, certain historical Europe, and other populations.{{Cite journal | last1 = Grantham-Mcgregor | first1 = S. | last2 = Cheung | first2 = Y. B. | last3 = Cueto | first3 = S. | last4 = Glewwe | first4 = P. | last5 = Richter | first5 = L. | last6 = Strupp | first6 = B. |author-link4=Paul Glewwe | doi = 10.1016/S0140-6736(07)60032-4 | title = Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries | journal = The Lancet | volume = 369 | issue = 9555 | pages = 60–70 | year = 2007 | pmid = 17208643| pmc = 2270351}} 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.{{Cite conference|publisher=Ministerio de Salud Pública y Asistencia Social |page=670 |title=Encuesta Nacional de Salud Materno Infantil, 2008-2009 |trans-title=Guatemala Reproductive Health Survey 2008‒2009 |location=Guatemala City, Guatemala |access-date=26 April 2013 |date=December 2010 |url=http://www.ine.gob.gt/np/ensmi/Informe_ENSMI2008_2009.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113153701/http://www.ine.gob.gt/np/ensmi/Informe_ENSMI2008_2009.pdf |archive-date=13 November 2011 |df=dmy }}

Average height in a nation is correlated with protein quality. Nations that consume more protein in the form of meat, dairy, eggs, and fish tend to be taller, while those that obtain more protein from cereals tend to be shorter.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}} Therefore, populations with high cattle per capita and high consumption of dairy live longer and are taller. Historically, this can be seen in the cases of the United States, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia in the beginning of the 19th century.{{cite journal | last1=Baten | first1=Jörg | last2=Blum | first2=Matthias | year=2012 | title=An Anthropometric History of the World, 1810-1980: Did Migration and Globalization Influence Country Trends? | journal=Journal of Anthropological Sciences | volume=90 | issue=90 | pages=221–4 | doi=10.4436/jass.90011| doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 | pmid=23011935 | s2cid=38889880 |url=https://www.isita-org.com/jass/Contents/2012vol90/Baten/23011935.pdf }} Moreover, when the production and consumption of milk and beef is taken to consideration, it can be seen why the Germanic people who lived outside of the Roman Empire were taller than those who lived at its heart.{{Cite journal|last1=Baten|first1=Joerg|last2=Koepke|first2=Nikola|date=2008|title=Agricultural Specialization and Height in Ancient and Medieval Europe|journal=Explorations in Economic History|volume=45|issue=2|pages=127|doi=10.1016/j.eeh.2007.09.003}}

Image:Male Stature vs Age.svgImage:Female Stature vs Age.svg

Studies show that there is a correlation between small stature and a longer life expectancy. Individuals of small stature are also more likely to have lower blood pressure and are less likely to acquire cancer. The University of Hawaii has found that the "longevity gene" FOXO3 that reduces the effects of aging is more commonly found in individuals of a small body size. Short stature decreases the risk of venous insufficiency. Certain studies have shown that height is a factor in overall health while some suggest tallness is associated with better cardiovascular health and shortness with longevity.{{Cite journal|vauthors=Samaras TT, Elrick H |title=Height, body size, and longevity: is smaller better for the humanbody? |journal=The Western Journal of Medicine |volume=176 |issue=3 |pages=206–8 |year=2002 |pmid=12016250 |pmc=1071721 |doi=10.1136/ewjm.176.3.206}} Cancer risk has also been found to grow with height.{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/cancer-risk-may-grow-with-height-1.1109553 | work=CBC News | title=Cancer risk may grow with height | date=21 July 2011}} Moreover, scientists have also observed a protective effect of height on risk for Alzheimer's disease, although this fact could be a result of the genetic overlap between height and intracraneal volume and there are also genetic variants influencing height that could affect biological mechanisms involved in Alzheimer's disease etiology, such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).{{Cite journal|last1= Jansen|first1=I.E.|last2=Savage|first2=J.E.|last3=Watanabe|first3=K.|last4=Bryois|first4=J.|last5=Williams|first5=D.M.|last6=Steinberg|first6=S.|last7=Sealock|first7=J.|last8=Karlsson|first8=I.K.|last9=Hägg|first9=S.|year=2019|title= Genome-wide meta-analysis identifies new loci and functional pathways influencing Alzheimer's disease risk |journal=Nature Genetics|volume=51|issue=3|pages=404–413|doi=10.1038/s41588-018-0311-9|pmid= 30617256|pmc= 6836675|hdl= 10037/17318}}

Nonetheless, modern westernized interpretations of the relationship between height and health fail to account for the observed height variations worldwide.Cavalli-Sforza, L.L., & Cavalli-Sforza, F., 1995, The Great Human Diasporas, Cavalli-Sforza and Cavalli-Sforza note that variations in height worldwide can be partly attributed to evolutionary pressures resulting from differing environments. These evolutionary pressures result in height-related health implications. While tallness is an adaptive benefit in colder climates such as those found in Europe, shortness helps dissipate body heat in warmer climatic regions. Consequently, the relationships between health and height cannot be easily generalized since tallness and shortness can both provide health benefits in different environmental settings.

In the end, being excessively tall can cause various medical problems, including cardiovascular problems, because of the increased load on the heart to supply the body with blood, and problems resulting from the increased time it takes the brain to communicate with the extremities. For example, Robert Wadlow, the tallest human known to verifiable history, developed difficulty in walking as his height increased throughout his life. In many of the pictures of the latter portion of his life, Wadlow can be seen gripping something for support. Late in his life, although he died at age 22, he had to wear braces on his legs and walk with a cane; and he died after developing an infection in his legs because he was unable to feel the irritation and cutting caused by his leg braces.

Sources are in disagreement about the overall relationship between height and longevity. Samaras and Elrick, in the Western Journal of Medicine, demonstrate an inverse correlation between height and longevity in several mammals including humans.

Women whose height is under {{cvt|150|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} may have a small pelvis, resulting in such complications during childbirth as shoulder dystocia.{{cite web|last=Merck|title=Risk factors present before pregnancy|url=http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec22/ch258/ch258b.html|work=Merck Manual Home Edition|publisher=Merck Sharp & Dohme}}

A study done in Sweden in 2005 has shown that there is a strong inverse correlation between height and suicide among Swedish men.{{Cite journal|vauthors=Magnusson PK, Gunnell D, Tynelius P, Davey Smith G, Rasmussen F |title=Strong inverse association between height and suicide in a large cohort of Swedish men: evidence of early life origins of suicidal behavior? |journal=The American Journal of Psychiatry |volume=162 |issue=7 |pages=1373–5 |year=2005 |pmid=15994722 |doi=10.1176/appi.ajp.162.7.1373}}

A large body of human and animal evidence indicates that shorter, smaller bodies age more slowly, and have fewer chronic diseases and greater longevity. For example, a study found eight areas of support for the "smaller lives longer" thesis. 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. They all support the conclusion that smaller individuals live longer in healthy environments and with good nutrition. However, the difference in longevity is modest. Several human studies have found a loss of 0.5 years/centimeter of increased height (1.2 yr/inch). But these findings do not mean that all tall people die young. Many live to advanced ages and some become centenarians.Samaras TT 2014, Evidence from eight studies showing smaller body size is related to greater longevity JSRR 3(16):2150-2160. 2014: article no. JSRR.2014.16.003{{Dubious|date=January 2022}}

In medicine, height is measured to monitor child development, this is a better indicator of growth than weight in the long term.{{Cite web|url=https://bettercare.co.za/learn/child-healthcare/text/03.html|title=3. Growth and development}} For older people, excessive height loss is a symptom of osteoporosis.{{Cite web |url=https://www.osteoporosis.ca/multimedia/pdf/osteoporosis_month_2012.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=6 June 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801191151/https://www.osteoporosis.ca/multimedia/pdf/osteoporosis_month_2012.pdf |url-status=dead }} Height is also used to compute indicators like body surface area or body mass index.

{{See also|Heights of presidents and presidential candidates of the United States}}

There is a large body of research in psychology, economics, and human biology that has assessed the relationship between several physical features (e.g. body height) and occupational success.{{Cite journal |title=Body height and occupational success for actors and actresses |first1=Stieger |last1=Stefan |first2=Burger |last2=Christoph |journal=Psychological Reports |volume=107 |pages=25–38 |year=2010 |doi=10.2466/pr0.107.1.25-38 |pmid=20923046 |issue=1}} The correlation between height and success was explored decades ago.{{Cite journal |title=Height and occupational success: a review and critique |first1=Hensley |last1=W. E. |first2=Cooper |last2=R. |journal=Psychological Reports |volume=60 |pages=843–849 |year=1987 |pmid=3303094 |issue=3 Pt 1 |doi=10.2466/pr0.1987.60.3.843|s2cid=8160354 }}{{Cite journal|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/mdj3/MGMT580/Readings/Week%201/Judge.pdf |title=The Effect of Physical Height on Workplace Success and Income: Preliminary Test of a Theoretical Model |author1=Judge, T. A. |author2=Cable, D. M. |journal=Journal of Applied Psychology |volume=89 |pages=428–441 |year=2004 |doi=10.1037/0021-9010.89.3.428 |pmid=15161403 |issue=3 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914104348/http://faculty.washington.edu/mdj3/MGMT580/Readings/Week%201/Judge.pdf |archive-date=14 September 2012 |df=dmy }} Shorter people are considered to have an advantage in certain sports (e.g. gymnastics, race car driving, etc.), whereas in many other sports taller people have a major advantage. In most occupational fields, body height is not relevant to how well people are able to perform; nonetheless several studies found that success was positively correlated with body height, although there may be other factors such as sex or socioeconomic status that are correlated with height which may account for the difference in success.{{Cite journal |url=http://www-personal.umich.edu/~dansilv/height.pdf |title=The Effect of Adolescent Experience on Labor Market Outcomes: The Case of Height |first1=Persico |last1=Nicola |first2=Postlewaite |last2=Andrew |journal=Journal of Political Economy |volume=112 |pages=1019–1053 |year=2004 |doi=10.1086/422566 |last3=Silverman |first3=Dan |issue=5 |s2cid=158048477 }}{{Cite journal |url=http://www.diw-berlin.de/documents/dokumentenarchiv/17/diw_01.c.41848.de/paper2004_heineck.pdf |title=Up in the skies? The relationship between body height and earnings in Germany |author=Heineck G. |journal=Labour |volume=19 |pages=469–489 |year=2005 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-9914.2005.00302.x |issue=3|s2cid=18176180 }}

A demonstration of the height-success association can be found in the realm of politics. In the United States presidential elections, the taller candidate won 22 out of 25 times in the 20th century.{{Cite journal |title=Politicians' estimated height as an indicator of their popularity |first=Sorokowski |last=Piotr |journal=European Journal of Social Psychology |year=2010 |doi=10.1002/ejsp.710 |volume=40 |issue=7 |pages=1302–1309}} Nevertheless, Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, was {{cvt|150|cm|ftin}} 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. These examples, however, were all before modern forms of multimedia (i.e., television), which may further height discrimination in modern society. Further, growing evidence suggests that height may be a proxy for confidence, which is likewise strongly correlated with occupational success.Nickless, Rachel (28 November 2012) [http://www.afr.com/p/national/work_space/lifelong_confidence_rewarded_in_gSNmV78QAuqjmT8Ksy3QSJ Lifelong confidence rewarded in bigger pay packets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026053025/http://www.afr.com/p/national/work_space/lifelong_confidence_rewarded_in_gSNmV78QAuqjmT8Ksy3QSJ |date=26 October 2014 }}. Afr.com. Retrieved on 2 September 2013.

The tallest living man is Sultan Kösen of Turkey at {{convert|251|cm|ftin|abbr=on}},{{Cite web|title=Tallest man living {{!}} Guinness World Records|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-man-living|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=20 December 2024}} and the tallest living woman is Rumeysa Gelgi, also of Turkey, at {{convert|215|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web|title=Tallest woman living {{!}} Guinness World Records|publisher=Guinness World Records|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-woman-living-|access-date=20 December 2024}} The tallest man in modern history was Robert Wadlow (1918−1940), from Illinois, United States, who was {{convert|272|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} at the time of his death.{{Cite web|title=Tallest man ever {{!}} Guinness World Records|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-man-ever|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=20 December 2024}} The tallest woman in modern history was Zeng Jinlian (1964−1982) of China, who measured {{convert|246|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} at the time of her death.{{Cite web|title=Tallest woman ever {{!}} Guinness World Records|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/tallest-woman|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=20 December 2024}} The shortest adult human on record was Chandra Bahadur Dangi (1939−2015) of Nepal at {{convert|55|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web |title=Shortest male ever {{!}} Guinness World Records |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/67521-shortest-man-ever|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=20 December 2024}}

Until the wedding of former Chinese professional basketball player Sun Mingming on 4 August 2013,{{Cite web|url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/84649-tallest-married-couple-living|title=Tallest married couple living {{!}} Guinness World Records|publisher=Guinness World Records|access-date=20 December 2024}} the tallest living married couple were ex-basketball players Yao Ming and Ye Li (both of China), standing at {{convert|229|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} and {{cvt|190|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} respectively, giving a combined height of {{convert|419|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. They married in Shanghai, China, on 6 August 2007.{{Cite book|title=Guinness World Records 2014|publisher=The Jim Pattison Group|year=2013|pages=49}}

File: Human heights over the long-run, OWID.svg

File: Average adult height by year of birth, OWID.svg

File: Annual change in average female height, OWID.svg

File: Annual change in average male height, OWID.svg

In general, modern humans living in developed countries are taller than their ancient counterparts, but this was not always the case.

Certain ancient human populations were quite tall, even surpassing the average height of the tallest of modern countries. For instance, certain hunter-gatherer populations living in Europe during the Paleolithic Era and India during the Mesolithic Period averaged heights of around {{convert|183|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for males, and {{convert|172|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for females.{{cite journal | url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/5105466.pdf | doi=10.1353/asi.2003.0042 | title=Skeletal Variation among Mesolithic People of the Ganga Plains: New Evidence of Habitual Activity and Adaptation to Climate | year=2003 | last1=Lukacs | first1=John R. | last2=Pal | first2=J. N. | journal=Asian Perspectives | volume=42 | issue=2 | pages=329–351 | s2cid=161294454|jstor=42928583 | hdl=10125/17195 }}

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.

During the Bronze Age, height varied significantly by region. The people of the Indus Valley Civilization were among the tallest in the world, with an average height of {{convert|176|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for males and {{convert|166|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for females.{{Cite journal |last=Woo |first=Eun-jin |last2=Waghmare |first2=Pranjali |last3=Kim |first3=Yong-jun |last4=Nilesh |first4=Jadhav |display-authors=3 |date=2018-08-31 |title=Assessing the physical and pathological traits of human skeletal remains from cemetery localities at the Rakhigarhi site of the Harappan Civilization |url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ase/126/2/126_180612/_article/-char/en |journal=Anthropological Science |publisher=J-STAGE |volume=126 |issue=2 |pages=111-120 |doi=10.1537/ASE.180612}} The people of Ancient Egypt stood around {{convert|167|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for males and {{convert|157|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for females.{{cite journal |last1=Zakrzewski |first1=SR |title=Variation in ancient Egyptian stature and body proportions. |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |date=July 2003 |volume=121 |issue=3 |pages=219–29 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.10223 |pmid=12772210 |s2cid=9848529 |url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/33363.pdf |access-date=6 April 2023 |language=en}} The Ancient Greeks averaged {{convert|166|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for males and {{convert|154|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for females. The Romans were slightly taller, with an average height of {{convert|169|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for males and {{convert|158|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for females.{{cite journal | url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17003019/ | pmid=17003019 | year=2003 | last1=Hermanussen | first1=M. | title=Stature of early Europeans | journal=Hormones | volume=2 | issue=3 | pages=175–178 | doi=10.14310/horm.2002.1199 }}

In the first half of the eighteenth century, the average height of an English male was {{convert|165|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}, and the average height of an Irish male was {{convert|168|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}, according to a study by economist John Komlos and Francesco Cinnirella. The estimated mean height of English, German, and Scottish soldiers was {{convert|163|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} − {{convert|165|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} for the period as a whole, while that of Irish was {{convert|167|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. The average height of male slaves and convicts in North America was {{convert|171|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{Cite journal | volume = 94 | issue = 3 | pages = 271–284 | last = Komlos | first = John |author2=Francesco Cinnirella | title = European heights in the early 18th century | journal = Vierteljahrschrift für Sozial-und Wirtschaftsgeschichte| access-date = 26 April 2013 | year = 2007 | doi = 10.25162/vswg-2007-0015 | url = http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/fsv/vswg/2007/00000094/00000003/art00001 }}

Before the mid-nineteenth century, there were cycles in height, with periods of increase and decrease;{{cite magazine|author1=Laura Blue|title=Why Are People Taller Today Than Yesterday?|url=http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1820836,00.html#ixzz2tJdu48CZ|access-date=28 March 2017|magazine=Time|date=8 July 2008}} however, apart from the decline associated with the transition to agriculture, examinations of skeletons show no significant differences in height from the Neolithic Revolution through the early 1800s.{{Cite book|last1=Herrera|first1=Rene J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZF1gDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA501|title=Ancestral DNA, Human Origins, and Migrations|last2=Garcia-Bertrand|first2=Ralph|date=2018-06-13|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-12-804128-4|pages=501|language=en}}{{Cite journal|last1=Wells|first1=Jonathan C. K.|last2=Stock|first2=Jay T.|date=2020|title=Life History Transitions at the Origins of Agriculture: A Model for Understanding How Niche Construction Impacts Human Growth, Demography and Health|journal=Frontiers in Endocrinology|language=en|volume=11|page=325|doi=10.3389/fendo.2020.00325|pmid=32508752|pmc=7253633|issn=1664-2392|doi-access=free}}

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. The original indigenous population of Plains Native Americans was also among the tallest populations of the world at the time.{{Cite journal | journal = NBER Historical Working Paper No. 112 | last1 = Prince | first1 = Joseph M. |author-link2=Richard H. Steckel |first2=Richard H. |last2=Steckel | title = The Tallest in the World: Native Americans of the Great Plains in the Nineteenth Century | date = December 1998 | doi=10.3386/h0112 | doi-access = free }} Some studies also suggest that there existed the correlation between the height and the real wage, moreover, the correlation was higher among the less developed countries. The difference in height between children from different social classes was already observed by the age of two.{{cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Jörg |title=Heights and Real Wages in the 18th and 19th Centuries: An International Overview |journal=Economic History Yearbook |date=Jun 2000 |volume=41 |issue=1|doi=10.1524/jbwg.2000.41.1.61 |s2cid=154826434 }}

The average height of Americans and Europeans decreased during periods of rapid industrialization, possibly due to rapid population growth and broad decreases in economic status.{{Cite journal | volume = 58 | pages = 779–802 | last = Komlos | first = John | title = Shrinking in a growing economy? The mystery of physical stature during the industrial revolution | journal = Journal of Economic History | year = 1998 | doi = 10.1017/S0022050700021161 | issue = 3| s2cid = 3557631 }} This has become known as the early-industrial growth puzzle (in the U.S. context, the Antebellum Puzzle). In England, during the early nineteenth century, the difference between the average height of English upper-class youth (students of Sandhurst Military Academy) and English working-class youth (Marine Society boys) reached {{cvt|22|cm|1}}, the highest that has been observed.{{Cite book | last1 = Komlos | first1 = J. | doi = 10.1016/S0363-3268(07)25003-7 | title = On English Pygmies and Giants: The physical stature of English youth in the late 18th and early 19th centuries | series = Research in Economic History | volume = 25 | pages = 149–168 | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-0-7623-1370-9 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.539.620 | s2cid = 12218137 }}

In general, there were no significant differences in regional height levels throughout the nineteenth century.{{cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Joerg |last2=Blum |first2=Matthias |title=Growing tall but unequal: new findings and new background evidence on anthropometric welfare in 156 countries, 1810-1989. |journal=Economic History of Developing Regions |date=2012 |volume=27 |pages=566–585|doi=10.1080/20780389.2012.657489 |s2cid=154506540 }} The only exceptions of this rather uniform height distribution were people in the Anglo-Saxon settlement regions who were taller than the average and people from Southeast Asia with below-average heights. 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.{{cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Joerg |title=Global Height Trends in Industrial and Developing Countries, 1810-1984: An Overview |journal=Recuperado el |date=2006 |volume=20}} These differences did not disappear in the deglobalization period of the two World wars. In 2014, Baten and Blum found that in the nineteenth century, important determinants of height were the local availability of cattle, meat and milk as well as the local disease environment. In the late twentieth century, however, technologies and trade became more important, decreasing the impact of local availability of agricultural products.{{cite journal |last1=Baten |first1=Joerg |last2=Blum |first2=Matthias |title=Why are you tall while others are short? Agricultural production and other proximate determinants of global heights. |journal=European Review of Economic History |date=2014 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=144–165|doi=10.1093/ereh/heu003 |url=https://pure.qub.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/why-are-you-tall-while-others-are-short-agricultural-production-and-other-proximate-determinants-of-global-heights(01600055-feb3-4596-9c69-4e66853c2033).html }}

Data derived from burials show that before 1850, the mean stature of males and females in Leiden, Netherlands, was respectively {{convert|167|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} and {{convert|156|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. The average height of 19-year-old Dutch orphans in 1865 was {{convert|160|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{Cite book

| publisher = Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

| isbn = 9789031343478

| last = Fredriks

| first = Anke Maria

| title = Growth diagrams: fourth Dutch nation-wide survey

| location = Houten

| year = 2004

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=8FTtyZmWKZUC&pg=PA19

}}

From 1830 to 1857, the average height of a Dutch person decreased, even while Dutch real GNP per capita was growing at an average rate of more than 0.5% per year. The worst decline was in urban areas that in 1847, the urban height penalty was {{cvt|2.5|cm|1}}. Urban mortality was also much higher than in rural regions. In 1829, the average urban and rural Dutchman was {{convert|164|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. By 1856, the average rural Dutchman was {{convert|162|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} and urban Dutchman was {{convert|158|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}.{{Cite journal

| issn = 0075-2800

| volume = 2000

| pages = 77–94

| last = Drukker

| first = J. W.

|author2=Vincent Tassenaar

| title = Shrinking Dutchmen in a growing economy: the early industrial growth paradox in the Netherlands

| journal = Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte

| access-date = 26 April 2013

| year = 2000

| url = http://www.digitalis.uni-koeln.de/JWG/jwg_149_77-85.pdf

}}

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 {{cvt|183|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} tall.{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/pr.2012.189|title=The world's tallest nation has stopped growing taller: The height of Dutch children from 1955 to 2009|year=2012|last1=Schönbeck|first1=Yvonne|last2=Talma|first2=Henk|last3=Van Dommelen|first3=Paula|last4=Bakker|first4=Boudewijn|last5=Buitendijk|first5=Simone E.|last6=Hirasing|first6=Remy A.|last7=Van Buuren|first7=Stef|journal=Pediatric Research|volume=73|issue=3|pages=371–7|pmid=23222908|doi-access=free}}

In the 150 years since the mid-nineteenth century, the average human height in industrialised countries has increased by up to {{cvt|10|cm}}.{{cite news|author1=Adam Hadhazy|title=Will humans keep getting taller?|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150513-will-humans-keep-getting-taller|access-date=28 March 2017|work=BBC|date=14 May 2015}} However, these increases appear to have largely levelled off.{{cite news|author1=Michael J. Dougherty|title=Why are we getting taller as a species?|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-we-getting-taller/|access-date=28 March 2017|work=Scientific American}}

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.{{specify|date=April 2013}} In contrast South Koreans "feasting on an increasingly Western-influenced diet," without famine, were growing taller. The height difference is minimal for Koreans over forty years old, who grew up at a time when economic conditions in the North were roughly comparable to those in the South, while height disparities are most acute for Koreans who grew up in the mid-1990s a demographic in which South Koreans are about {{cvt|12|cm|in}} taller than their North Korean counterparts as this was a period during which the North was affected by a harsh famine where hundreds of thousands, if not millions, died of hunger.{{Cite news | last = Demick | first = Barbara | title = Effects of famine: Short stature evident in North Korean generation | work = Seattle Times | access-date = 26 April 2013 | date = 14 February 2004 | url = https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20040214/korea14/effects-of-famine-short-stature-evident-in-north-korean-generation | archive-date = 14 April 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130414094654/http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20040214&slug=korea14 | url-status = live }} A study by South Korean anthropologists of North Korean children who had defected to China found that eighteen-year-old males were {{cvt|5|in|cm|1|order=flip}} shorter than South Koreans their age due to malnutrition.{{cite news |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8809102/The-unpalatable-appetites-of-Kim-Jong-il.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8809102/The-unpalatable-appetites-of-Kim-Jong-il.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=The unpalatable appetites of Kim Jong-il |date = 8 October 2011 |access-date=8 October 2011|last1=Demick |first1=Barbara }}{{cbignore}}

The height of British children growing up during the years of austerity has decreased: as of 2019, the average five-year-old boy measured {{convert|112.5|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} and the average girl {{convert|111.7|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. They were shorter and more obese than many of their European peers.{{Cite news |last=Hill |first=Amelia |date=2023-06-21 |title=Children raised under UK austerity shorter than European peers, study finds |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/21/children-raised-under-uk-austerity-shorter-than-european-peers-study |access-date=2024-03-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Adult height between populations often differs significantly. For example, the average height of women from the Czech Republic is greater than that of men from Malawi. This may be caused by genetic differences, childhood lifestyle differences (nutrition, sleep patterns, physical labor), or both.

Depending on sex, genetic, and environmental factors, shrinkage of stature may begin in middle age in some individuals but tends to be universal in the extremely aged. This decrease in height is due to such factors as decreased height of inter-vertebral discs because of desiccation, atrophy of soft tissues, and postural changes secondary to degenerative disease.

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 Indonesia, human height has decreased coincidentally with natural or political shocks.{{cite journal|last1=van der Eng|first1=Pierre|last2=Baten|first2=Joerg|last3=Stegl|first3=Mojgan|title=Long-Term Economic Growth and the Standard of Living in Indonesia|journal=SSRN Electronic Journal|publisher=Elsevier BV|year=2010|issn=1556-5068|doi=10.2139/ssrn.1699972|s2cid=127728911 |url=https://www.cbe.anu.edu.au/researchpapers/econ/wp514.pdf }}

{{Main|Average human height by country}}

File: A textile label showing the difference in average height around the world (Polo shirt).jpg. What is a medium size in the United States and Europe is large size for Asia.]]

As with any statistical data, the accuracy of the findings may be challenged. In this case, for the following reasons:

• Some studies may allow subjects to self-report values.{{cite news |vauthors=Amos J |title=Dutch men revealed as world's tallest |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36888541 |publisher=BBC News |date=26 July 2016 |access-date=10 November 2018 |archive-date=9 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509041414/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36888541 |url-status=live }} Generally speaking, self-reported height tends to be taller than measured height, although the overestimation of height depends on the reporting subject's height, age, gender and region.{{cite journal | vauthors = Krul AJ, Daanen HA, Choi H | title = Self-reported and measured weight, height and body mass index (BMI) in Italy, the Netherlands and North America | journal = European Journal of Public Health | volume = 21 | issue = 4 | pages = 414–419 | date = August 2011 | pmid = 20089678 | doi = 10.1093/eurpub/ckp228 | doi-access = free }}{{cite journal | vauthors = Lucca A, Moura EC | title = Validity and reliability of self-reported weight, height and body mass index from telephone interviews | journal = Cadernos de Saude Publica | volume = 26 | issue = 1 | pages = 110–122 | date = January 2010 | pmid = 20209215 | doi = 10.1590/s0102-311x2010000100012 | doi-access = free }}{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-522-x/2008000/article/11002-eng.pdf|title=Methodological issues in anthropometry: self-reported versus measured height and weight|vauthors=Shields M, Gorber SC, Tremblay MS|date=2009|publisher=Proceedings of Statistics Canada's Symposium 2008. Data Collection: Challenges, Achievements and New Directions|access-date=11 February 2012|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002500/http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-522-x/2008000/article/11002-eng.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite tech report | vauthors = Moody A | veditors = Craig R, Mindell J |title=Health Survey for England – 2012 |volume=1 |chapter=10: Adult anthropometric measures, overweight and obesity |page=20 |publisher=Health and Social Care Information Centre |url=http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13218/HSE2012-Ch10-Adult-BMI.pdf |date=18 December 2013|access-date=31 July 2014 |name-list-style=vanc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160702012345/http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB13218/HSE2012-Ch10-Adult-BMI.pdf |archive-date=2 July 2016 |url-status=dead }}
• Test subjects may have been invited instead of random sampling, resulting in sampling bias.
• Some countries may have significant height gaps between different regions. For instance, one survey shows there is {{convert|10.8|cm|in|1}} gap between the tallest state and the shortest state in Germany.{{cite web| publisher= WWC Web World Center GmbH G.R.P. Institut für Rationelle Psychologie |url=http://www.menshealth.de/sixcms/media.php/37/Mens_Health_Fettatlas_2008.pdf |title=Körpermasse Bundesländer & Städte |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816023627/http://www.menshealth.de/sixcms/media.php/37/Mens_Health_Fettatlas_2008.pdf |archive-date=16 August 2012 |date=31 October 2007}} Under such circumstances, the mean height may not represent the total population unless sample subjects are appropriately taken from all regions with using weighted average of the different regional groups.
• Different social groups can show different mean height. According to a study in France, executives and professionals are {{convert|2.6|cm|in|1}} taller, and university students are {{convert|2.55|cm|in|1}} taller than the national average.{{cite journal|author=Herpin, Nicolas|year=2003|title=La taille des hommes: son incidence sur la vie en couple et la carrière professionnelle|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/es361d.pdf|journal=Économie et Statistique|volume=361|issue=1|pages=71–90|doi=10.3406/estat.2003.7355|access-date=11 February 2012|archive-date=19 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919082242/http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/es361d.pdf|url-status=live}} As this case shows, data taken from a particular social group may not represent a total population in some countries.
• Height measurement can vary over the course of a day, due to factors such as a decrease from exercise done directly before measurement (i.e., inversely correlated), or an increase since lying down for a significant period of time (i.e., positively correlated). For example, one study revealed a mean decrease of {{convert|1.54|cm|in|1}} in the heights of 100 children from getting out of bed in the morning to between 4 and 5 p.m. that same day.{{cite journal | vauthors = Buckler JM | title = Variations in height throughout the day | journal = Archives of Disease in Childhood | volume = 53 | issue = 9 | pages = 762 | date = September 1978 | pmid = 568918 | pmc = 1545095 | doi = 10.1136/adc.53.9.762 | doi-access = free }} Such factors may not have been controlled in all of the following studies.

In 2017, men from Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Netherlands, Montenegro, and Serbia have the tallest average height.{{Cite journal|last1=Grasgruber|first1=Pavel|last2=Popović|first2=Stevo|last3=Bokuvka|first3=Dominik|last4=Davidović|first4=Ivan|last5=Hřebíčková|first5=Sylva|last6=Ingrová |first6=Pavlína |last7=Potpara|first7=Predrag|last8=Prce|first8=Stipan|last9=Stračárová|first9=Nikola|date=2017-04-01|title=The mountains of giants: an anthropometric survey of male youths in Bosnia and Herzegovina|journal=Royal Society Open Science |volume=4|issue=4|pages=161054|doi=10.1098/rsos.161054|pmid=28484621|pmc=5414258|bibcode=2017RSOS....461054G|issn=2054-5703}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.seeker.com/health/the-tallest-men-in-the-world-trace-back-to-prehistoric-mammoth-hunters|title=The Tallest Men in the World Trace Back to Paleolithic Mammoth Hunters|last=Viegas|first=Jen|date=2017-04-11|work=seeker|access-date=2017-04-12}}

In 2024, the world's three tallest populations were in the Netherlands, Montenegro, and Estonia.{{cite web | title=Average Height by Country 2024 | website=World Population by Country 2024 (Live) | url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/average-height-by-country | access-date=2025-03-06}}{{cite web | last=Bostock | first=Bill | last2=McGrath | first2=Jenny | title=The countries with the tallest people in the world, ranked | website=Business Insider | date=2024-12-18 | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/tallest-people-world-countries-ranked-2019-6#2-montenegros-mean-height-is-5-feet-955-inches-17665-cm-24 | access-date=2025-03-06}}

A 2005 study found teenagers from the Dinaric Alps to be the tallest people in the world.{{cite journal|title=Les Alpes Dinariques : un peuple de sujets de grande taille Average height of adolescents in the Dinaric Alps |date=1 September 2005|pmid=16168365 | doi=10.1016/j.crvi.2005.07.004|volume=328|issue=9|journal=Comptes Rendus Biologies|pages=841–6 | last1 = Pineau | first1 = JC | last2 = Delamarche | first2 = P | last3 = Bozinovic | first3 = S|url=https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/articles/10.1016/j.crvi.2005.07.004/ | quote=This study contributes to an update of average heights among European populations. Our investigation covering 2705 boys and 2842 girls aged 17 years, shows that, contrary to the general belief, adolescents of the Dinaric Alps are, on average, the tallest in Europe. With an average height of 185.6 cm, they are taller than Dutch adolescents (184 cm on average).}}

Dinka people are sometimes noted for their height, with the Tutsi of Rwanda believed to be the tallest people in Africa.{{cite web |url=http://www.nmafa.si.edu/exhibits/focus/tutsi.html |title=The Tutsi |work=In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa 1885–1960 |publisher=National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution}} In a sample of 52 Dinka Agaar, Roberts and Bainbridge reported a mean height of {{cvt|182|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. In 227 Dinka Ruweng, they reported {{cvt|181|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}. Both figures derived from 1953 to 1954.{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=D. F. |last2=Bainbridge |first2=D. R. |title=Nilotic physique |journal=Am J Phys Anthropol |year=1963 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=341–370 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.1330210309 |pmid=14159970 }} In Tibet, the Khampas are known for their tall height. Mean height of male Khampas is {{height|cm=180}}.{{cite book|author=Subba, Tanka Bahadur |title=Politics of Culture: A Study of Three Kirata Communities in the Eastern Himalayas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8wPq9ay0CF8C|year=1999|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-1693-9}}{{cite book|author=Peissel, Michel |title=Mustang: A Lost Tibetan Kingdom|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLE2AAAACAAJ|year=1967|publisher=Book Faith India|isbn=978-81-7303-002-4}}

Height measurements are by nature subject to statistical sampling errors even for a single individual. 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. The smooth 50th percentile male and female growth curves illustrated above are aggregate values from thousands of individuals sampled at ages from birth to age 20. In reality, a single individual's growth curve shows large upward and downward spikes, partly due to actual differences in growth velocity, and partly due to small measurement errors.

For example, a typical measurement error of plus or minus {{cvt|0.5|cm|1}} may completely nullify 0.5 cm of actual growth resulting in either a "negative" 0.5 cm growth (due to overestimation in the previous visit combined with underestimation in the latter), up to a {{cvt|1.5|cm|1}} growth (the first visit underestimating and the second visit overestimating) in the same elapsed period between measurements. Note there is a discontinuity in the growth curves at age 2, which reflects the difference in recumbent length (with the child on his or her back), used in measuring infants and toddlers, and standing height typically measured from age 2 onwards.

Crown-rump length is the measurement of the length of human embryos and fetuses from the top of the head (crown) to the bottom of the buttocks (rump). It is typically determined from ultrasound imagery and can be used to estimate gestational age.

Until two years old, recumbent length is used to measure infants.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ihs.gov/hwm/infantguidelines/|title = Infant Guidelines}} Length measures the same dimension as height, but height is measured standing up while the length is measured lying down. In developed nations, the average total body length of a newborn is about {{convert|50|cm|abbr=on}}, although premature newborns may be much smaller.

Standing height is used to measure children over two years old{{Cite web|url=https://www.ihs.gov/hwm/childguidelines|title=Child Guidelines}} and adults who can stand without assistance. Measure is done with a stadiometer. In general, standing height is about {{cvt|0.7|cm|1}} less than recumbent length.[https://www.who.int/childgrowth/training/module_b_measuring_growth.pdf?ua=1 Measuring a child's growth] p.19, World Health Organization

Surrogate height measurements are used when standing height and recumbent length are impractical. For example, the Chumlea equation, which uses knee height, can be used to estimate the height of hospitalized patients when standard methods are impractical.{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1016/j.eclnm.2008.01.004|title = Stature estimation using the knee height determination in critically ill patients|year = 2008|last1 = Berger|first1 = Mette M.|last2 = Cayeux|first2 = Marie-Christine|last3 = Schaller|first3 = Marie-Denise|last4 = Soguel|first4 = Ludivine|last5 = Piazza|first5 = Guido|last6 = Chioléro|first6 = René L.|journal = e-SPEN, the European e-Journal of Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism|volume = 3|issue = 2|pages = e84–e88}} Some other techniques include arm span, sitting height, and ulna length.

• Anthropometry, the measurement of the human individual
• Human body weight
• List of tallest people
• Economics and Human Biology (academic journal)
• History of anthropometry
• Human physical appearance
• Human variability
• Pygmy peoples

{{reflist}}

• {{cite news |title=Los españoles somos 3,5 cm más altos que hace 20 años |url=http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/145966/0/ |trans-title=Spaniards are 3.5 cm taller than 20 years ago |date=31 July 2006 |newspaper=20 minutos |language=es}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Aminorroaya |first1= A. |last2=Amini |first2=M. |last3=Naghdi |first3=H. |last4=Zadeh |first4=A. H. |name-list-style=amp |year=2003 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6f4e/6e7c1035dec4518ebbc7753e802e4b6380ee.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919171832/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6f4e/6e7c1035dec4518ebbc7753e802e4b6380ee.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-09-19 |title=Growth charts of heights and weights of male children and adolescents of Isfahan, Iran |journal=Journal of Health, Population, and Nutrition |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=341–346 |pmid=15038589|s2cid=21907084 }}
• {{cite magazine |last=Bilger |first=Burkhard |date=29 March 2004 |title=The Height Gap |url=https://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040405fa_fact |magazine=The New Yorker |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040402170212/http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040405fa_fact |archive-date=2 April 2004}}
• {{cite book |last=Bogin |first=Barry |author-link=Barry Bogin |date=2001 |title=The Growth of Humanity |location=Hoboken, NJ |publisher=Wiley-Liss |isbn=978-0-471-35448-2}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Case |first1=A. |last2=Paxson |first2=C. |name-list-style=amp |title=Stature and Status: Height, ability, and labor market outcomes |journal=The Journal of Political Economy |volume=116 |issue=3 |pages=499–532 |year=2008 |pmid=19603086 |pmc=2709415 |doi=10.1086/589524}}
• {{cite web |title=Health Survey for England – trend data |url=http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/stats/trends1.htm |location=United Kingdom |publisher=Department of Health and Social Care |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041010105413/http://www.publications.doh.gov.uk/stats/trends1.htm |archive-date=10 October 2004}}
• {{cite book |title=Eurostat Statistical Yearbook 2004 |location=Luxembourg |publisher=Eurostat |year=2014 |isbn=978-92-79-38906-1}} (for heights in Germany)
• {{cite book |last1=Eveleth |first1=P. B. |last2=Tanner |first2=J. M. |date=1990 |title=Worldwide Variation in Human Growth |edition=2nd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-35916-0}}
• {{cite book |last=Grandjean |first=Etienne |title=Fitting the Task to the Man: An Ergonomic Approach |location=London |publisher=Taylor & Francis |date=1987 |isbn=978-0-85066-192-7}} (for heights in U.S. and Japan)
• {{cite journal |last1=Habicht |first1=Michael E. |last2=Henneberg |first2=Maciej |last3=Öhrström |first3=Lena M. |last4=Staub |first4=Kaspar |last5=Rühli |first5=Frank J.|name-list-style=amp |title=Body height of mummified pharaohs supports historical suggestions of sibling marriages |journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology |volume=157 |issue=3 |date=27 April 2015 |pages=519–525 |doi=10.1002/ajpa.22728|pmid = 25916977|s2cid=205335354 }}
• A collection of data on human height, referred to here as "karube" but originally collected from other sources, is archived [https://web.archive.org/web/20050509004407/http://www.kurabe.net/average_height/ here]. A copy is available [http://www.psych.ualberta.ca/~phurd/karube/ here] (an English translation of this Japanese page would make it easier to evaluate the quality of the data...)
• {{cite journal |last1=Krishan |first1=K. |last2=Sharma |first2=J. C. |name-list-style=amp |title=Intra-individual difference between recumbent length and stature among growing children |journal=Indian Journal of Pediatrics |volume=69 |issue=7 |pages=565–569 |year=2002 |pmid=12173694 |doi=10.1007/BF02722678|s2cid=22427304 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Miura |first1=K. |last2=Nakagawa |first2=H. |last3=Greenland |first3=P. |name-list-style=amp |title=Invited commentary: Height-cardiovascular disease relation: where to go from here? |journal=American Journal of Epidemiology |volume=155 |issue=8 |pages=688–689 |year=2002 |pmid=11943684 |doi=10.1093/aje/155.8.688 |doi-access=free }}
• {{cite web |title=Americans Slightly Taller, Much Heavier Than Four Decades Ago |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/04news/americans.htm |date=27 October 2004 |publisher=National Center for Health Statistics}}
• Netherlands Central Bureau for Statistics, 1996 (for average heights)
• {{cite journal |last1=Ogden |first1=Cynthia L. |last2=Fryar |first2=Cheryl D. |last3=Carroll |first3=Margaret D. |last4=Flegal |first4=Katherine M. |name-list-style=amp |url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad347.pdf |title=Mean Body Weight, Height, and Body Mass Index, United States 1960–2002|journal=Advance Data from Vital and Health Statistics |number=347 |date=27 October 2004 |pages=1–17 |pmid=15544194 }}
• {{cite journal |last1=Ruff |first1=Christopher |date=October 2002 |title=Variation in human body size and shape |journal=Annual Review of Anthropology |volume=31 |pages=211–232 |doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.31.040402.085407}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Sakamaki |first1=R. |last2=Amamoto |first2=R. |last3=Mochida |first3=Y. |last4=Shinfuku |first4=N. |last5=Toyama |first5=K. |name-list-style=amp |title=A comparative study of food habits and body shape perception of university students in Japan and Korea |journal=Nutrition Journal |volume=4 |page=31 |year=2005 |pmid=16255785 |pmc=1298329 |doi=10.1186/1475-2891-4-31 |doi-access=free }}
• {{cite book |title=6. Celostátní antropologický výzkum dětí a mládeže 2001, Česká republika |trans-title=6th Nationwide anthropological research of children and youth 2001, Czech Republic |language=cs |location=Prague |publisher=Státní zdravotní ústav (SZÚ; "State Health Institute") |date=2005 |isbn=978-8-07071-251-1}}

• {{Cite journal |author=Marouli, Eirini |display-authors=etal |date=9 February 2017 |title=Rare and low-frequency coding variants alter human adult height |journal=Nature |volume=542 |issue=7640 |pages=186–190 |bibcode=2017Natur.542..186M |doi=10.1038/nature21039 |pmid=28146470 |pmc=5302847}}{{Closed access}}

{{Commons category|Human height}}

• [https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/ CDC National Center for Health Statistics: Growth Charts of American Percentiles]
• [http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/MEETING/004/M2846E/M2846E07.htm fao.org], Body Weights and Heights by Countries (given in percentiles)
• [https://www.pbs.org/pov/bigenough/special_heightgap.php The Height Gap, Article discussing differences in height around the world] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151203083543/http://www.pbs.org/pov/bigenough/special_heightgap.php |date=3 December 2015 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081002173119/http://eh.net/XIIICongress/cd/papers/70PrinceSteckel378.pdf Tallest in the World: Native Americans of the Great Plains in the Nineteenth Century]
• [http://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/572/1/european_heights_in_the_early_18th_century.pdf European Heights in the Early eighteenth Century]
• [http://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/1358/1/bc_dp.pdf Spatial Convergence in Height in East-Central Europe, 1890–1910]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081002173121/http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/uni/wwl/koepke%20baten%20two%20millennia.pdf The Biological Standard of Living in Europe During the Last Two Millennia]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160909101231/http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/articles_of_the_month/pdf/w8542.pdf HEALTH AND NUTRITION IN THE PREINDUSTRIAL ERA: INSIGHTS FROM A MILLENNIUM OF AVERAGE HEIGHTS IN NORTHERN EUROPE]
• [http://ourworldindata.org/data/food-agriculture/human-height/ Our World In Data - Human Height] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409092224/http://ourworldindata.org/data/food-agriculture/human-height/ |date=9 April 2016 }} - Visualizations of how human height around the world has changed historically (by Max Roser). Charts for all countries, world maps, and links to more data sources.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081216230811/http://web.econ.ohio-state.edu/rsteckel/VITA/2004%20Historical%20Perspective%20on%20the%20Std%20of%20Living...What%20has%20happened%20to%20the%20quality%20of%20life...pdf What Has Happened to the Quality of Life in the Advanced Industrialized Nations?]
• [http://lens.elifesciences.org/13410/index.html?_ga=1.152382713.1764579718.1469517364#content/figure_reference_10 A century of trends in adult human height], NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RISC), 25 July 2016, {{doi|10.7554/eLife.13410}}
• [https://heightdifferencechart.com/ Height difference chart], Use a height difference chart to visually compare various human heights, making it easy to see relative differences with side-by-side illustrations and height markers.

{{Medical resources}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Human height

Category:Anthropometry

Category:Auxology

Category:Mathematics in medicine