Texas men are getting shorter (live, statistics, land)

[midwesterner guy]

Getting shorter on the average anway. Statistics show that white and black males average 5’10” tall. Mexican males average 5’7” tall. As illegals pour across the border and the percentage of Texans with Mexican lineage increases, the average height goes down. Great news, huh? Human height: Information from Answers.com

[TexasHorseLady]

People have been getting shorter for some time now, and not just in Texas. Also, ethnicity has been adjusted for by the serious researchers in anthropometrics, John Komlos being the dean of the field.

[midwesterner guy]

Nice article. And the quote at the end is great!

European might say that America is a land of harried parents and neglected children, of expensive health care that misses those who need it most, a society that for all its wealth somehow manages to be nasty, brutish — and short.

[Mdlx]

Maybe at the same time we'll become less fat too?

[johnrex62]

I have been through some of the historical buildings from the 1700's and they were built for much shorter people than 5'5"! Even if Americans are becoming shorter, we have a long way to go before we reach equivalent heights as our ancestors that came from Europe 250-300 years ago. Based on the height of doorways and ceilings, they must have been under 5' as the norm.

[ILikeSmartHippies]

Originally Posted by Mdlx

Maybe at the same time we'll become less fat too?

Probably not. Another recent study based on following infants for 2 years found that babies drinking formula (which has higher protein content than mother's milk) had much higher body weight (% body fat) than mother's milk-fed babies, and presumed this higher body fat would continue throughout their lives. As a result, or in conjunction, the average baby weights have been adjusted down, to better reflect mother's milk-fed babies, and reflect 'natural weights of infants'. I don't have a link handy but should be easy to find. I would assume that America is the tops for number of infants fed by formula.

[b. frank]

Originally Posted by midwesterner guy

Getting shorter on the average anway. Statistics show that white and black males average 5’10” tall. Mexican males average 5’7” tall. As illegals pour across the border and the percentage of Texans with Mexican lineage increases, the average height goes down. Great news, huh? Human height: Information from Answers.com

Hilarious. Fantastic logical reasoning skills.
Did the Mexicans also make midwesterners dumber somehow?

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by johnrex62

I have been through some of the historical buildings from the 1700's and they were built for much shorter people than 5'5"! Even if Americans are becoming shorter, we have a long way to go before we reach equivalent heights as our ancestors that came from Europe 250-300 years ago. Based on the height of doorways and ceilings, they must have been under 5' as the norm.

You'd probably be surprised. You might want to read some of the anthropometric studies - in the 1700's, American men were actually within an inch of the same height they are now, we got taller, and then we got shorter again.

This isn't based on the height of doorways and ceilings but on measurement of thousands of skeletons, which is somewhat more accurate.

[Rocket Power]

Um....so what?

I'm a Texan with Mexican lineage, but I'm 6'1. I guess the Mexicaness in me didn't stunt my growth much.

[Pecos_Drifter]

I did notice at the State Fair Last year that Big Tex wasn't as big as I remember, must be the mexicans fault