My, how the Dutch have grown

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At the end of World War II, the average American male was nearly 5 foot 10, while the average Dutchman measured little more than 5 foot 7. But starting in the 1950s, the Dutch began shooting up, an average of almost an inch per decade, to the point that the average height for an adult Dutch male today is just under 6 foot 1.


A new survey that measured 10,000 Dutch schoolchildren confirms their status as the world's tallest and suggests that the growth trend will keep up for at least a decade. Scandinavians and other Northern Europeans experienced similar growth spurts. So have the once-short Japanese.


During the same period, Americans expanded horizontally but not vertically. The average height of the American male today is stuck at 5 feet 9 1/2 inches. U.S. women have actually lost a third of an inch and are on average slightly over 5 foot 4.

Here's the summary of why..

The U.S. remains the wealthiest country in the world. So why have Americans not grown upward since the mid-1950s? And why have the Dutch and other Europeans shot up?

Komlos and other experts believe the answer lies in the uneven distribution of wealth in America and better access to health care in Europe.