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This is somewhat misleading : if you use human height as a proxy for wellbeing, you will see that Victorian Britain was a particularly low point. So is studyin
by BlueTemplar 6y ago
This is somewhat misleading : if you use human height as a proxy for wellbeing, you will see that Victorian Britain was a particularly low point.
So is studying early American colonists : they found themselves in particularly hostile territory, which they had no know-how about, with only unreliable support by ship.
- WalterBright 6y agoThe height problem was a result of the population outpacing the food supply. The height of Americans started skyrocketing in 1800, and this continued right up to WW2, when it leveled off. As historian Eugene Weber observed, America in 1800 was the first time in human history when enough food was produced to end the constant threat of famine. P.S. The pre-Columbian North American Indians didn't have it much better. Their bones show repeated episodes of famine.
- alfiedotwtf 6y agoIsn’t height something that’s mainly inherited? I’m guessing height shot up because of immigration rather than diet
- WalterBright 6y agoThere's a genetic component, surely. But if you look at historical height statistics, adequate food is clearly a dominant factor. This is true of every country that transitioned to an adequate food supply.
- alfiedotwtf 6y agoThanks, TIL