Europeans getting taller, Americans are not

Americans have historically been the tallest people in the world, but a recent paper reveals that this may not always be the case. While many European populations are getting taller with each generation, Americans, quite simply, are not.

So what could cause such a shift?

According to the team of Princeton/Munich scholars that published the paper in Social Science Quarterly, the difference is healthcare. They surmise that the universal healthcare system and greater degree of social security throughout Europe "provide better conditions for growth than the American health system, despite the fact that the system costs twice as much." The scholars also point to American diets as an additional factor.

Whatever it is, it's fairly significant. Today, the average Dutch man is 6 cm taller than the average American -- which is a complete reversal of how it was in the 19th century.

[via Boing Boing]