The estimated average height of the human male in the overall worldwide population currently stands at 1.72 m or 67.7 in. Economic advantages lead to an increase in the average height, although genetic background does set higher standards for some ethnic populations. American men 20 years and older currently average 69.4 in. tall.
Significance
Height depends on many factors and even gathering statistics on the height of the world's human population presents unusual problems. A study from the 1970s considered race and age as well as diet and ethnicity, allowing some conclusions about the effect of genetics and environment on height. In general, as economic conditions improve for a given population, height increases. If economic conditions improve for the human population worldwide, average height should increase.
Highs and Lows
The tallest population in the world today resides in the Dinaric Alps, a region which includes the nations of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Albania. Ethnic populations from Africa including the Masai and the Dinka -- both famous for exceptional height -- did not make the cut. At the other end of the scale lie the world's pygmy populations and people of the disadvantaged nations. On the average, South Koreans now stand inches taller than their less prosperous North Korean counterparts, a reflection of the powerful effect of good nutrition during the critical years of human growth. Studies of pygmy populations now indicate that short lifespan and early reproduction ages also keep the average height low.
History
North American Plains Indians once held the record as the world's tallest people, according to a study done by Richard H. Steckel of Ohio State University and Joseph M. Prince of the University of Tennessee. Their examination of records from the 19th century showed that the healthier lifestyle and solid social structure of societies such as the Cheyenne contributed more to overall physical stature than did the better technology of European pioneers. Americans of European descent averaged 171 cm in the 19th Century, still taller than their European-born counterparts.
Benefits
Being taller could actually enhance the quality of life as well as reflect better economic conditions. A poll conducted by Gallup-Healthways in 2008 suggests that taller people feel better about themselves and their life situations. American men answering the poll also experienced more stress and reacted to situations angrily more often than shorter individuals. Even so, taller men tended to worry less. Taller women actually worried more than women of shorter height, but psychological benefits of height appear to be real. Taller people even reported less physical pain.
Theories
Although economic and genetic factors clearly influence average height, the exact interaction isn't clear. Genetic mutations might play an important role completely apart from the logical factors of family history and prosperity. Genes that control the amount of estrogen in the body directly affect an individual's height. When the genes mutate and decrease estrogen or estrogen use, both men and women carrying the mutation grow taller. Most of that extra height comes from leg bone growth that continues past adolescence.
References
- Hypertextbook: Height of an Adult Human
- Seattle Times: Effects of Famine -- Short Stature Evident in North Korean Generation
- National Center for Biotechnology Information: Life History Trade-offs Explain the Evolution of Human Pygmies
- Economic History Association: Tallest in the World -- Native Americans of the Great Plains in the Nineteenth Century
- Princeton University: Life at the Top -- The Benefits of Height
- The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism: Significant Population Variation in Adult Male Height
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