Wapo - Why are Americans getting shorter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, that's not it, OP. Whites of Scandinavian descent are tall. Hispanic whites are short.

Changing heights are due to changing demographics.

Yup.

- former Scandinavian Texan

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat a much more varied and nutritious diet than I did as a kid and they're both forecast to be shorter than us. We don't have any obesity in the family and are all fit.

DH and I are both 5'8" tall. Our girls are expected to be 5'2" and 5'6", so noticeably shorter than both of us. We attribute it to genetics given other shorter female family members. It shouldn't be diet, as we eat a pretty darn clean and healthy diet by any standard.

Your DH is short, actually really short, you however are tall, if you are the tallest female in your family then you are an outlier. A genetic fluke.

This weird poster makes no sense.

Not really, I get it. Tall mom canceled out by short dad. So the kids ended up somewhere in the middle. If dad was 6'3" and the girls ended up those heights it would be unusual.

[Anonymous]

This could all be explained by taller people having more kids than in the past.

If obesity is related to height then there should be some data showing that. Studies should be comparing children to their parents and uncles/aunts, not an amalgamation of changing demographics.

These articles are just people throwing around pet political theories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This could all be explained by taller people having more kids than in the past.

If obesity is related to height then there should be some data showing that. Studies should be comparing children to their parents and uncles/aunts, not an amalgamation of changing demographics.

These articles are just people throwing around pet political theories.

Shorter people having more kids.

[Anonymous]

Is this really a problem that needs correcting? I mean, eat better for health's sake, but not because a shorter population is a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat a much more varied and nutritious diet than I did as a kid and they're both forecast to be shorter than us. We don't have any obesity in the family and are all fit.

DH and I are both 5'8" tall. Our girls are expected to be 5'2" and 5'6", so noticeably shorter than both of us. We attribute it to genetics given other shorter female family members. It shouldn't be diet, as we eat a pretty darn clean and healthy diet by any standard.

This is no great mystery. The formula of expected height for girls is add up your two heights and minus five inches (would be plus five inches for a girl) and divide by 2. And then most kids will be within 2 inches of this prediction.

So that gave your offspring a likely range of 5'3.5" to 5'7.5" roughly. So the 5-2 one is a bit shorter than expected. The other one did better than expected. Pretty unlikely either one would end up your height or taller.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat a much more varied and nutritious diet than I did as a kid and they're both forecast to be shorter than us. We don't have any obesity in the family and are all fit.

DH and I are both 5'8" tall. Our girls are expected to be 5'2" and 5'6", so noticeably shorter than both of us. We attribute it to genetics given other shorter female family members. It shouldn't be diet, as we eat a pretty darn clean and healthy diet by any standard.

Your DH is short, actually really short, you however are tall, if you are the tallest female in your family then you are an outlier. A genetic fluke.

This weird poster makes no sense.

Not really, I get it. Tall mom canceled out by short dad. So the kids ended up somewhere in the middle. If dad was 6'3" and the girls ended up those heights it would be unusual.

The daughter at 5'6" isn't surprising, but the one at 5'2" seems unusual for those parents. That's short, not in the middle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat a much more varied and nutritious diet than I did as a kid and they're both forecast to be shorter than us. We don't have any obesity in the family and are all fit.

DH and I are both 5'8" tall. Our girls are expected to be 5'2" and 5'6", so noticeably shorter than both of us. We attribute it to genetics given other shorter female family members. It shouldn't be diet, as we eat a pretty darn clean and healthy diet by any standard.

This is no great mystery. The formula of expected height for girls is add up your two heights and minus five inches (would be plus five inches for a boy) and divide by 2. And then most kids will be within 2 inches of this prediction.

So that gave your offspring a likely range of 5'3.5" to 5'7.5" roughly. So the 5-2 one is a bit shorter than expected. The other one did better than expected. Pretty unlikely either one would end up your height or taller.

sorry above should have said for a boy. It's minus five for a girl and plus five for a boy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat a much more varied and nutritious diet than I did as a kid and they're both forecast to be shorter than us. We don't have any obesity in the family and are all fit.

DH and I are both 5'8" tall. Our girls are expected to be 5'2" and 5'6", so noticeably shorter than both of us. We attribute it to genetics given other shorter female family members. It shouldn't be diet, as we eat a pretty darn clean and healthy diet by any standard.

Your DH is short, actually really short, you however are tall, if you are the tallest female in your family then you are an outlier. A genetic fluke.

Not quite. She is tall, he is 2” below average, kids are 2” above and below average, respectively so yes, their heights are quite an expected outcome.

[Anonymous]

Another way Reagan era policies have had a deleterious affect on America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it is amount of short foreigners moving in. Mexican, Asian etc.

When I was young in NYC the police had a 6 foot height requirement minimum.

The cops had tons of Irish, German, Black cops all who were six feet or taller.

My NYC neighborhood at time in 1960s six feet or more was a normal height.

Today 2024 my old neighborhood is largely Hispanic with Asians mixed in and Black.

Of course the average height has shrunk.

For example in 1976 my older brother was cut from the JV basket ball team in my HS at six foot four inch ninth grader!! They had two six foot five inch 9th graders already!!

Today he be star of that team. The school is all Asian and Mexican.

The article (in bolded in OP post) stated they looked at only white people.

[Anonymous]

Remember that even for the same foods we ate pre 1980s, they are worse quality now due to worse soil quality.

Also our water supply is full of forever chemicals and other nasty stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids eat a much more varied and nutritious diet than I did as a kid and they're both forecast to be shorter than us. We don't have any obesity in the family and are all fit.

DH and I are both 5'8" tall. Our girls are expected to be 5'2" and 5'6", so noticeably shorter than both of us. We attribute it to genetics given other shorter female family members. It shouldn't be diet, as we eat a pretty darn clean and healthy diet by any standard.

I think whether they’ve gotten their periods yet will play into their final height, but obviously “expected” to be isn’t final yet, unless post-puberty. Have they always trended at those height percentiles? My son is taller than predicted by those add up/divide formulae because the males in my husband’s family are always tall. I’m 5’3” and my husband is 6’1” and our son is on track at 13 to be the same height. If you look at all the males on DH’s side, they’re all 6’1” and over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this really a problem that needs correcting? I mean, eat better for health's sake, but not because a shorter population is a bad thing.

Indeed.. the world is made for averaged sized people.

[Anonymous]

Because our immigrants used to come from Norway and the Netherlands. Now they come from Guatemala and Laos. You figure it out.