(ANSA) - ROME, SEPTEMBER 19 - For years the tallest people in the world, in recent years the Dutch have shortened.
Lorivela a research conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and the Superior Health Institute, cited by Cnn.
According to the study, although average height has increased over the past 100 years, those born in 2001 are one centimeter shorter than those born in 1980. A difference that increases by nearly half a centimeter in women, 20-year-olds are now 1.4 centimeters shorter. low 40 year olds. In particular, men born in 1980 have an average height of 183.9 cm, 8.3 cm more than those born in 1930. Those born in 2001 are 'only' tall, 1.82 cm. Women born in 1980 are significantly taller, (170.7cm), than women born in 1930 (165.4cm) and remain taller than girls in 2001 who averaged 168.5cm. The study looked at 719,000 people between the ages of 19 and 60 using the average height of an individual at 19 as a reference point.
Among the reasons for the phenomenon, according to the research, there is the increase of immigrants who belong to tendentially lower populations. However, growth has also decreased in individuals whose both parents are from the Netherlands and for those who have been Dutch for two generations.
The picture is not uniform, with great differences between the north and the south of the country. Those from Limburg (south) are the lowest, while those from Friesland are 3-3.5cm taller.
Despite this, the researchers conclude, the Dutch have not lost their primacy as the world's tallest people, first conquered in the 1950s. (HANDLE).