Looking forward to settle down and have kids but wish they would grow up to be tall individuals? After all surgical methods to “extend” ones’ height remain an extremely painful experience. A recent study covering the height of 2,675 boys and 2,603 girls in Poland seems to link nature & nurture to the height of individuals. The study compared the height of the children and their parents’ height and family income.
As expected well-to-do families are better nourished and have children of taller stature. However the scientists discovered that having parents both born in the same geographical location will often result in children of shorter stature. And parents from different locations tend to have children of taller statures. According to the lead researcher Dariusz Danel, of the Institute of Anthropology at the Polish Academy of Sciences, this is tagged with genetic diversity.
This evidence showed that this marital distance accounted for some 20% of variations in the boys’ height and 14% of the girls’ height. Boys may have been affected to a greater extend due to their faster growth rate and longer periods of growth. ‘This effect is visible in children during the three analyzed stages of the development period, ranging from 6 to 18 years of age,’ said Dr Danel.
Perhaps you are asking yourself, “What in the world has geographical distance got to do with genetic diversity?” Well to answer that question, you will have to look into the beauty of evolution. Throughout the evolution of mankind, our genes evolved for better adaptability to our environment. As such individuals from the same geographical location tend to share similar if not identical genes.
Now if you have parents from different parts of the world, chances are there will be genetic variations between the two of them. When you combine these variations, you also increase the adaptability and efficiency of their children. When the body operates more efficiently, energy saved in the process has the chance to be channeled into growth and results in the taller stature.
Perhaps you have always been negatively affected by a shorter stature, and wanted things to be different. While this study may not be able to change your height, you now have the chance to change things for your children. After all watching ones’ children surpass themselves is perhaps the greatest joy any parent can experience. This research is published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology