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There's diversity in China too.
It's said in Harbin, a northeastern city, the average of young males is 178cm (5'11"). However in some rural areas of south China, it is barely 170cm (5'7").
In China's case people from the southwestern part of the country are the shortest in average. However, that doesn't mean they ain't tough
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Diet is part of it, but genetics still does play a role. I've travelled to 7 countries in Asia, and have found the tallest in Northern China (where the average is similar to here), and the shortest in Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia. I'm not tall myself, about 175 cm of 5'9", yet it was rare to meet a Vietnamese male my height or taller. I found myself frequently dwarfed in China, to my surprise. Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong.etc all benefit from first world lifestyle/diet. The Japanese still don't seem as tall as a lot of Koreans and Chinese. Older Chinese do seem a lot shorter, though, which probably skews stats a lot.
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Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth
The tallest man in the world is Mongol, from Inner Mongolia. Mongols tend to be taller than most other Asians, but I guess we're counting Mongolia as Inner Asia, not East Asia?
Average height of Mongolians is actually shorter than other E.Asians, but taller than SE Asians. Their diet is high in dairy and meat, so I'm not quite sure why. Maybe they're more cold adapted? Would be interested to see average heights for Siberians and Inuit. I also believe the Sami are shorter than southern Swedes.
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Originally Posted by Davy-040
If find it interesting that Thailand is 2 to 3 inches taller on average than it's neighbors (Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia).
Thailand has more Chinese ancestry and the living standard is higher. Austronesians, including Malays, and Khmers are short people on average. It's not uncommon to see Filipino or Indonesian maids well under 5 feet.
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?
Generally I've found that Mongolians, Koreans, and northern Chinese (who have a lot of that Korean/Mongol type of blood as well), all seem to be generally quite tall.
I don't find Japanese or southeast asians to be as tall as that Korean/northern Chinese/Mongolia sphere. But I also don't find them to be exceptionally short either.
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Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
Generally I've found that Mongolians, Koreans, and northern Chinese (who have a lot of that Korean/Mongol type of blood as well), all seem to be generally quite tall.
I don't find Japanese or southeast asians to be as tall as that Korean/northern Chinese/Mongolia sphere. But I also don't find them to be exceptionally short either.
Indonesians, Filipinos and Vietnamese do stick out as short even by SE standards, at least the ones in those countries. I don't think it's just diet, either. I even noticed Viets in Hanoi were taller than other parts of the country. If seems height just increases as you go north.
Yes. A study was done a long time ago that concluded the (once characteristic) short stature of East Asians was due to diet. Japanese in the US and Japan were studied, and it came to the conclusion you gave. Also, over generations, Japanese in Japan got taller as diet there improved. And let's not forget the Mongols and some of the other Inner Asian peoples, who tend to be tall, anyway. Maybe because dairy products (calcium) is a core part of their traditional diet...?
Another factor may be the ancestral origins of the early Asian immigrants to the US. The bulk of the early Chinese immigrants came from southern China, and in particular, from several counties in Guangdong Province - and it's pretty well known that southern Chinese tend to be shorter.
Sure, improved dietary intake over generations also helped.
Today, at least for Chinese, you have immigrants from other regions of China, including the northeast, where they tend to be fairly tall.
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