[binh bui]

Why are American-born and/or raised Asian children taller than non-American born Asians? I was born in Vietnam and raised in America since I was 7, and I am four inches taller than my parents. My youngest brother, born in Wisconsin, will likely be six inches taller than mom and pop. My Asian friends are the same - they're taller than their parents by several inches, some by seven or more. My theory is that it is caused by the richer diet in Western countries. Are there any other factors?

User Detail :  

Name : binh bui, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Asian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : San Diego, State : CA Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Richard]

I do not think there is one easy answer to this. I am of Anglo decent and am about eight inches taller than my father, yet he was born here in America, as was I. I believe the answer lies in the realm of evolution because I have noticed that all children to some degree seem to be getting taller than their parents. If there is another answer out there I would like to know it.

User Detail :  

Name : Richard, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 42, City : Ypsilanti, State : MI Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[Augustine23639]

Better diet would seem to be the obvious answer, though it may also be growth hormones (BGH, etc.) in the food that are finding their way throughout the food chain. When I graduated from high school in 1978, being 6'0" was regarded as tall; now, heights of 6'4" and above are not uncommon. I see a lot of young people who are 'too tall for their body frame,' much as you would have plants made too tall and spindly by over-fertilizing. It's really pitiful because, while you can diet to lose weight, you can't lose height (at least not by any appreciable degree).

User Detail :  

Name : Augustine23639, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jaina]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Diet has been linked to height and strength in Asian cultures. Here, we eat more protein/calcium-rich foods than our parents did growing up. Simply put, children here get more nutrients that stimulate growth.

User Detail :  

Name : Jaina, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Asian Indian, Age : 23, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Nicole]

I am a biology student, and I would definitely say nutrition is a huge factor. People are eating better, healthier foods today than they were even 20 years ago. We're also exercising more and smoking less - I would say that on the whole, our culture has become much more conscious of the need to take care of ourselves. I, too, am taller than my mother and most of my aunts, and I am catching up on my father. My mom agrees that I ate much better than she did as a child, partly for financial reasons and partly because her generation of parents had more knowledge about the healthiest foods for their children than the previous generation.

User Detail :  

Name : Nicole, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 19, City : Waterloo, State : NA Country : Canada, Occupation : University Science Student, 

[Beth23200]

I think you are quite right about diet being the most important factor. Your height is achieved by a combination of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment). Current knowledge on evolution would say that we can't genetically evolve into a population of taller people in just a few generations (unless we suddenly prevented all short people from breeding). So the most likely explanation for us towering over our parents is that we have had different diets (and probably different exercise levels). Having more nutrients during childhood than our ancestors did has allowed us to get closer to reaching our 'optimum' genetically determined, height. It will be interesting to see how pollution, anorexia and highly processed foods affect our nations' heights in the future.

User Detail :  

Name : Beth23200, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, Age : 25, City : Edinburgh, State : NA Country : United Kingdom, Occupation : PhD, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jacqueline-C21021]

I've heard that Asians in general are getting taller, not just Asians in the United States, and this is because of the introduction of milk into their diets. I don't have any evidence to back it up. My family came from North Dakota, and of my mom's siblings, all of the ones born in California are taller than the ones born in North Dakota. But then I am shorter than both my parents (not even 5' tall, even though my dad is almost 6'), and I have lived my entire life in California. So who knows.

User Detail :  

Name : Jacqueline-C21021, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 26, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Doug25657]

Definitely quantity and quality of diet. Traditional cultures were aware of this, too. Aspiring sumo wrestlers in Japan eat a special high protein diet in their teens to increase their height and weight. One response said he thought it was evolution. This isn't true. Evolution is the non-random survival of a randomly varying population. In this case, no one is killing the short people. :)

User Detail :  

Name : Doug25657, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 31, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Stuff, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ray30071]

I came to this by coincidence. But I read in an article that the reason for Asians getting taller on average, as studied by a group of scientists, is that because of Genetic Growth Potential. They state that the human skeletal orientation could not withstand too much height on average. This is why taller and bigger people are slower in average. For Ex: The speed difference between smaller players and big players in Baseball. Smaller players are faster and can easily move with more ease. This is regardless of race. In the case of Asians. Asian, European, and American diets are different. In Scandinavia, people are tall, but their height has remained stagnant for the last generations. Also, In Africa: The Dinka tribe which feast on Milk and Meat. They also have an eating contest to see who eats the most meat and drink the most milk. They have been doing this for thousands of years. 7 foot tribesman are common, but how come they haven't reached the 8' mark? The reason is that their body is saying no; Genetic Growth Potential. One noteworthy Dinka man is Manute Bol, a former NBA player. But he is hardly the intimidating factor like other players. Taller people are more subjected to Back pain, leg cramps, and neck problems than average people. 7 feet is uncommon regardless of race. It also depends on what region you live. Northern Asians are taller by 3-4 inches than of their southern rice-eating counterparts. North Asians usually eat wheat and meat, which easily explains why many of those Asian 7 footers in the NBA and the CBA are from the Northern part of Asia. It may be hard to believe, but there is a place in China/Mongolia where 7 foot teenagers are common. No, they are not all Basketball players. This is of course where the NBA is scouting potential new talent. You will never find 7 foot 15 year olds in Europe and U.S., but this is often attributed by population alone. Their diet are different, regardless of being poor. Northern Europeans are taller than Southern Europeans. It is a fact that Asians are the fastest growing people over the last generation. One thing is certain though. Human beings, on average will never reach unsurmountable heights.

User Detail :  

Name : Ray30071, City : LV, State : NV Country : United States, 

[Ray]

Yes, Asians are getting taller. If you read articles written by scientists, it will most likely say that Asians are growing quite rapidly. Nutrition is getting better and they are finally just starting to realize that height is not related to your race. For example: The Japanese are eating alot more western foods. They still eat sushi and noodles but the new generations also like to mix in some cow milk and some cooked meat in between. In a recent acticle it says 'Beware parents; your children are getting taller, bigger, and smarter.' Also, studies have shown that Vietnamese people and Asians in particular have grown quite well from the forties to now. Of course, this process is left unnoticed because it is a slow process.However, there are already big Asians in particular. Most notably are Northern Chinese and Mongolians. But is quite rare to see Northern Chinese and Mongolians in America and other countries because most Asians who immigrate are their Southern rice eating counterparts. You will see them, but most notably, you will see them in Sports like the NBA. But it is unlikely that humans will be 8 foot creatures who roam around the earth by the billions.

User Detail :  

Name : Ray, City : Las Vegas, State : NV Country : United States, 

[Yan S.]

I think that it is because US is much larger then Vietnam and you get to move around and have different experiences in your life time. In Vietnam people are more family oriented and spend most of their life around the same house, knowing the same people. It is kind of like living in the cage that you've build for yourself. A good example is a gold fish. If you put a gold fish in a bowl with water it will grow to a some limit depends on the bowl and stay that way. Then take the same gold fish out of the bowl and throw in in the lake. The lake is a limit to how large can this gold fish grow.

User Detail :  

Name : Yan S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 28, City : Atlanta, State : GA Country : United States, Occupation : Computers, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Author]

Posts