Not Much Fits

Experts say height is key in measuring society’s well-being

By MATT CRENSON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — America used to be the tallest country in the world.

From the days of the Founding Fathers right on through the Industrial Revolution and two world wars, Americans literally towered over other nations.

But just as it has in so many other arenas, America’s predominance in height has faded. Americans reached a plateau after World War II, gradually falling behind the rest of the world.

By the time the baby boomers reached adulthood in the 1960s, most northern and western European countries had caught up with and surpassed the U.S. Even residents of the formerly communist East Germany are taller than Americans today. In the Netherlands, the tallest country in the world, the typical man now measures 6 feet, a good 2 inches more than his average American counterpart.

Compare that with 1850, when the situation was reversed. Not just the Dutch but all the nations of Western Europe stood 2 1/2 inches shorter than their American brethren.

Does it really matter?

Many economists say it does, because height is correlated with numerous measures of a population’s well-being. Tall people are healthier, wealthier and live longer than short people. Some researchers have even suggested tall people are more intelligent.

It’s not that being tall actually makes you smarter, richer or healthier. It’s that the same things that make you tall — a nutritious diet, good prenatal care and a healthy childhood — also benefit you in those other ways.

That makes height a good indicator for economists interested in measuring how well a nation provides for its citizens during their prime growing years.

For years, researchers have been trying to figure out why the United States fell behind. How could the wealthiest country in the world, during the most robust economic expansion in its history, simply stop growing?

Like many human traits, an individual’s height is determined by a mix of genes and environment. Some experts put the contribution of genes at 40 percent, some at 70 percent, some even higher. But they all agree that aside from African pygmies and a few similar exceptions, most populations have about the same genetic potential for height.

That leaves environment to determine the differences in height between world populations, specifically the environment children experience from conception through adolescence. Any deficiency along the way, from poor prenatal care to early childhood disease or malnutrition, can prevent a person from reaching his or her full genetic height potential.

“We know environment can affect heights by 3, 4, 5 inches,” said Richard Steckel, an Ohio State University economist.

The earliest stages of life are the most important to human growth; at age 2, there is already about a 70 percent correlation between a child’s height and his or her eventual adult stature.

All of that means a population’s average height is a very sensitive indicator of its most vulnerable members’ welfare.

Rich countries tend to be taller simply because they have more resources to spend on feeding and caring for their children. But wealth doesn’t guarantee that a society will give its children what they need to thrive.

In the Czech Republic, per capita income is barely half of what it is in the United States. Even so, Czechs are taller than Americans. So are Belgians, who collect 84 percent as much income as Americans.

Studies have shown that disease and malnutrition early in life — the same things that limit a person’s height — increase chances of developing life-shortening conditions later. World statistics bear it out. Life expectancy in the Netherlands is 79.11 years; in Sweden, it’s 80.63. America’s life expectancy of 78.00 years puts it in somewhat shorter company, just above Cyprus and below Bosnia-Herzegovina.

“Obviously, America is not doing badly. It’s not at the level of developing nations,” said John Komlos, an economic historian at the University of Munich. “But it’s also not doing as well as it could.”

His latest research paper, in the June issue of Social Science Quarterly, suggests the blame may lie with America’s poor diet and its expensive, inequitable health care system.