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The Siberians and the Inuit of North America live in a very cold climate and most of them are short & stocky
I heard short stocky can retain body heat better than a tall thin person
Genetic diversity amongst these people would be less, and they may well have evolved that way for reasons you mention, but nutrition may be a factor too.
This heat retention may also a factor in high altitude places like the Andes. (as well as lung capacity).
Nutrition maximizes genetic potential, but can't create giants out of midgets.
Genetic diversity amongst these people would be less, and they may well have evolved that way for reasons you mention, but nutrition may be a factor too.
This heat retention may also a factor in high altitude places like the Andes. (as well as lung capacity).
Nutrition maximizes genetic potential, but can't create giants out of midgets.
I'm always lead to believe humidity and how a population can wick away humidity has something to do with height and the ideal climate being somewhere that is not extreme on both ends of the scale. The shortest populations seem to all hail from South East Asia and equatorial Africa/Americas....basically anywhere within a 5 degree +/- from equator.
The tallest people seem to reside around winter temps near zero or slightly below it but not frigid - e.g. Eastern Europe Alps, North but not far North China, even going into the native American tribes like the Sioux - one of the tallest tribes all seem to be around that specific climatic area.
Ive heard that the big & tall people are the ones that never make it through US NAVY SEAL training, because they cant handle the training when they have to spend time in frigid cold water conditions for an extended time, being taller and especially with a slender build, they would suffer from Hypothermia much quicker than a shorter stockier built person.
I'm always lead to believe humidity and how a population can wick away humidity has something to do with height and the ideal climate being somewhere that is not extreme on both ends of the scale. The shortest populations seem to all hail from South East Asia and equatorial Africa/Americas....basically anywhere within a 5 degree +/- from equator.
The tallest people seem to reside around winter temps near zero or slightly below it but not frigid - e.g. Eastern Europe Alps, North but not far North China, even going into the native American tribes like the Sioux - one of the tallest tribes all seem to be around that specific climatic area.
Except for those Maasai herders, and related peoples. They're very tall and thin. It's not humid where they live, though.
I'm always lead to believe humidity and how a population can wick away humidity has something to do with height and the ideal climate being somewhere that is not extreme on both ends of the scale. The shortest populations seem to all hail from South East Asia and equatorial Africa/Americas....basically anywhere within a 5 degree +/- from equator.
The tallest people seem to reside around winter temps near zero or slightly below it but not frigid - e.g. Eastern Europe Alps, North but not far North China, even going into the native American tribes like the Sioux - one of the tallest tribes all seem to be around that specific climatic area.
Tall lanky bodies can't move through dense brush as efficiently as short bodies which bend a lot less avoiding branches etc. enabling them to cover more terrain in less time following game etc. The very shortest peoples are found in dense jungles such as the Pygmies of and Negritos.
Okay, I'm not quite sure why Mongolians are quite short and stocky (given their northern latitude), but I also find the general observation that height increases as you go up north is basically true.
I live in a major U.S. city that has many internationals from all around the world, and I find that many Koreans and Chinese are quite tall nowadays. I have both Korean and Chinese relatives in my family, and the males tend to range between 5'9''-6'1'', without any shoe lifts.
Some of the girls I've seen are quite tall, like half a head taller than me. I stand 5'7'' as an Asian woman so I'm not exactly short.
Asians are often stereotyped as being shorter than other groups i.e. Europeans and Africans and for some asian groups i've found that to be true on the most part, most Filipinos are quite short. However at least in North America i've noticed that the 1st generation asian North Americans are often not too dissimilar in height from their non-asian counter-parts especially the Chinese, koreans as well.
I guess i would chalk that up to improved diet? So is it just a stereotype that Asians are shorter? if not what do you think the basis for a shorter height is?
NE Chinese are a a foot taller than many Mediterraneans from Portugal, Spain and Italy.
The reasons are not as trivial as diet but go back to evolutionary reasons...
Asians are often stereotyped as being shorter than other groups i.e. Europeans and Africans and for some asian groups i've found that to be true on the most part, most Filipinos are quite short. However at least in North America i've noticed that the 1st generation asian North Americans are often not too dissimilar in height from their non-asian counter-parts especially the Chinese, koreans as well.
I guess i would chalk that up to improved diet? So is it just a stereotype that Asians are shorter? if not what do you think the basis for a shorter height is?
diet and weather
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