Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

Natural Selection May Help Account for Dutch Height Advantage

posted by martyb on Friday April 10 2015, @08:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the looking-up dept.

mendax writes:

If you've ever wondered why Dutch people are so tall, this story from The New York Times may have the answer:

Today, the Dutch are on average the tallest people on the planet. Just 150 years ago, they were relatively short. In 1860, the average Dutch soldier in the Netherlands was just 5 feet 5 inches. American men were 2.7 inches taller.

Since 1860, average heights have increased in many parts of the world, but no people have shot up like the Dutch. The average Dutchman now stands over six feet tall. And while the growth spurt in the United States has stopped in recent years, the Dutch continue to get taller.

For years, scientists have sought to understand why average height has increased, and why the Dutch in particular have grown so quickly. Among other factors, the Dutch have a better diet than in the past, and they also have better medical care. But now Dr. Stulp and his colleagues have found evidence suggesting that evolution itself is also helping to make them taller.

It seems that taller men in the Netherlands are more likely to father more children:

Dr. Stulp and his colleagues analyzed data on 42,612 men and women over age 45, looking at the height of their subjects and how many children they had. Dutch men who were taller than average had more children than those of average or lower than average height, the researchers found.

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Natural Selection May Help Account for Dutch Height Advantage | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 55 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by inertnet on Friday April 10 2015, @10:31PM

    by inertnet (4071) on Friday April 10 2015, @10:31PM (#168852) Journal

    Years ago we were told that our tallness was due to residual growth hormones in all the dairy products we were fed excessively.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Interesting=2, Informative=1, Total=3
    Extra 'Interesting' Modifier   0  
    Total Score:   4  

  • (Score: 4, Funny) by maxwell demon on Saturday April 11 2015, @08:15AM

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Saturday April 11 2015, @08:15AM (#168921) Journal

    Actually it's evolution preparing for the rise of the sea level: Taller people have a higher chance that their head is still above the water line. :-)

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @02:35PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 11 2015, @02:35PM (#168956)
      The Netherlands isn't called the Low Countries for nothing... About a quarter of their land is below sea level, and only about half their land has an elevation of above a metre. They're one of the places which is most affected by the rising sea levels of late.

  • (Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Saturday April 11 2015, @03:15PM

    by DeathMonkey (1380) on Saturday April 11 2015, @03:15PM (#168961) Journal

    Years ago we were told that our tallness was due to residual growth hormones in all the dairy products we were fed excessively.
     
    Maybe hormones made the men taller and hornier. That could explain the study's findings.

    • (Score: 2) by kaszz on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:09PM

      by kaszz (4211) on Saturday April 11 2015, @06:09PM (#169013) Journal

      Or a prosperous nation makes it easier for people to sustain a good life?