Human height
Human height is the height of a human being. It is highly variable, but normally falls with a certain range (bell curve). The average height for male adults in America is about 5'9" to 5'10" (175-178 cm). For male teenagers the average height is from 5'4" to 5'9" (163-175 cm). This probably indicated that most adults obtain their full height around the late teens. For female adults in America, the average height is 5'3" to 5'8"(160-173 cm). For female teenagers the average height is from 4'11" to 5'6" (150-167 cm).
Human height can be changed by many factors. Since the development of modern medicine and plentiful food in the developed world average height has increased dramatically. Nutrition is the most important factor in height, and height records from military records and other documents can be used to quite accurately compare nutrition in various eras. Evidence has shown that height decreased in Britain in the early nineteenth century, before beginning its long increase around mid-century. Increase in height has not been constant, however. The European Dark Ages were an era of considerable height with men of above six feet (183 cm) considered unremarkable. In Europe human height reached its nadir at the start of the nineteenth century. The average height in Napoleon's army was about five feet (152 cm). Until the general rise in human health the general trend was as urbanization increased height declined.
Americans were far taller in the nineteenth century, the tallest in the world. However since the Second World War the height of Europeans have grown to surpass Americans by a fair margin, and has shown no sign of slowing. For instance the Netherlands was in the late nineteenth century a land renown for its short population, but today it has one of the tallest averages in the world with men averaging 6'2" (187 cm) tall. The average height in East Asian nations has been growing even faster and is likely to pass that of the United States in the near future. Japanese, once known in the west for shortness, are expected to be taller than Americans within a decade. Average height in impoverished Vietnam and North Korea remains very small (5'4"/162.5 cm and 4'11"/150 cm respectively, for young men), especially in contrast to the extreme growth occurring in surrounding Asian populations with higher standards of living (young South Koreans are about a foot taller than their North Korean counterparts, on average).
Height has important social ramifications. For men shortness is often a disadvantage with women finding short men less attractive and other men less likely to respect them. For instance taller politicians have a tendency to win elections. Studies have found taller men marry earlier and earn higher wages. It is almost the opposite for women where great height can be seen as unattractive.
Height can also play a role in sports. For most sports, height is useful as it affects the leverage between muscle volume and bones towards greater speed of movement. It is perhaps most valuable in basketball where extreme height is a great advantage. In some sports such as horse riding and gymnastics a compact frame is far more valuable.
The study of human growth is known as auxology. Growth and height have long been recognized as a measure of the health and wellness of individuals, hence part of the reasoning for the use of growth charts. Genetics is a major factor in determining the height of individuals, though it is less influential in regard to populations. Average height is increasingly used as a measure of the health and wellness of populations. This is attributed as a significant cause for the trends of increasing height for egalitarian populations where medical care and proper nutrition are more equally distributed. Diet, exercise, fitness, pollution exposure, sleep patterns, and climate are other possible factors.
The relationship between genetics and environment is uncertain. Certainly there are substantial relationships in the general heights of biological families; and the heights of parents and family are a fairly good predictor for the height of their children. However, as cited, there is strong environmental influence as well. Asian populations were once thought to be inherently shorter, though it now seems that humans as a species probably have a similar genetic height potential, and it is clear that genotypic size has not yet been realized.
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See also: anthropometry, Human weight, auxology