Men's height increases thanks to... women

Human stature has increased over the past century, but the increase has not been equal between men and women, a new study has found.

Research published last week in the journal Biology Letters found that men have grown in height and weight at twice the rate of increase in women - Photo: REUTERS

Human stature has increased over the past century thanks to better nutrition and health, but the gains have not been equal between men and women, according to a new study by CNN.

Research published last week in the journal Biology Letters found that men have grown twice as tall and heavy as women.

A team of researchers from Italy, the United States, and the United Kingdom analyzed 2003 data from the World Health Organization (WHO) on the height and weight of more than 100,000 people from 69 countries. The authors also used data from the Human Development Index (HDI).

The research team found that for every 0.2 increase in HDI, women's height increased by approximately 1.68 cm, and men's by 4.03 cm. Average weight also increased by 2.70 kg for women, and 6.48 kg for men.

This trend is also confirmed by evaluating data from the World Bank's Gini Index - a measure of national income inequality - for 58 countries from 2000 to 2006. A higher Gini coefficient indicates a more unequal country in income.

High inequality is also linked to lower height and weight. According to the study, each unit increase in Gini was associated with a reduction in average height of about 0.14cm in women and 0.31cm in men, and a reduction in average weight of about 0.13kg for women and 0.39kg for men.

Co-author of the study, environmental physiologist Lewis Halsey (University of Roehampton, UK) said that the difference in height growth rate between men and women is due to sexual selection. According to Mr. Halsey, men who were previously tall and heavy tended to be healthier, which helped them outperform other men in approaching more women, thereby passing on the gene for superior height.

Even today, “women still tend to prefer taller men,” Halsey notes. Women’s height, on the other hand, is seen as less of a factor, with men less likely to say, “Oh, I just like tall women.”

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chieu-cao-dan-ong-tang-la-nho-dan-ba-20250127114920077.htm