Why children in some countries are taller than in others: diet and environment bigger factors than genetics, study finds
- Teenagers in China are taller now than 35 years ago, a Lancet study of changes in average height in 193 countries shows
- However, the average height figures mask height differences between urban and rural China, which researchers blame on differences in nutrition
A recent study published in medical journal The Lancet suggests that, while genetics play a part in the height of a person, nutrition and the environment can play a bigger role. Within a few generations, the height of migrant descendants typically catches up to the height of non-migrant children in their new country.
In 1985, the mean height of 19-year-old women in China was 157.4cm (5.2 feet) and that of 19-year-old men 167.6cm. In 2019, the corresponding figures were 163.5cm and 175.7cm respectively. According to the study, the increase in boys’ height in China is the largest in the world and the increase in girls’ height is the third largest.
Previous research has shown that economic development in China in the past four decades has reduced childhood malnutrition. However, growing inequality has also seen children living in rural areas of China lag behind their urban peers in nutrition intake and height.