Dutch, World’s Tallest People, Just Keep Growing
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Reuters, Toronto Star, Jul. 23
The Dutch, already the tallest people on the planet, are still growing. Data collected over the last seven years showed increasing demand for larger clothing sizes in the Netherlands, where the average man is about 185 centimetres (6-foot-1) tall. The Dutch are nearly 10 centimetres taller on average than the British and Americans, and almost 15 centimetres taller than they were four decades ago.
Other studies also rank the Dutch as the tallest people on the planet—and suggest they could grow another 10 entimetres in the next few decades.
Researchers put it down to affluence, a diet rich in dairy products, and good hygiene and health care. But junk food may be limiting the health advantages that wealth has brought. Nearly half of the population is overweight.
(Posted on July 23, 2004)