Average human height

A Word or Two about Human Height

As we all know, our height is measuredfrom our feet all the way up to our head, while we are standingstraight. This distance, compared to what is considered a standard,is then described as average, lower, or higher thanstandard. Abnormalities in human height are expressed throughdwarfism, which are cases of extremely low height, or gigantism,which is the opposite, and connects with people who exceed 20% ofwhat is considered to be the average height value. The average variesfrom population to population and may be influenced by many differentfactors. For example, in poor and developing countries, wheremalnutrition is quite a common problem, it affects people causingmany to have height problems due to bodily deformities or incompletedevelopment. However, these deformities and abnormalities may occurwithout the above mentioned factors.

What Is the Average Human Height?

As it was mentioned above, each nationhas its own average height. However, generally, women are consideredshorter than men. Also, they stop growing before men do, since theyenter the puberty first as well. The whole growing process istriggered by hormonal activities and takes place since the onset ofpuberty all the way until the end of this period. Genetic differencesbetween people of different nations cause differences in the heightof their people. Finally, once we grow older, our height is likely todecrease as well. Speaking of extremes and abnormalities regardingheight, our world has given birth to different people who evenreached the height of 2,72 m.

The Importance of Height

Even though, extremes are interesting,they are not normal, and may, thereby, cause numerous problems.Firstly, in cases of excessive height, your nervous system may havetroubles coordinating your moves, your heart may suffer additionalpressure of your body. Alternatively, you might suffer from numerousmobility problems and infections, due to low blood circulation. Onthe other hand, extremely short people may suffer from numeroushealth problems. Also, short women tend to have a small pelvis,making it hard for them to give birth without risks. However, someresearches show that tall people have a better cardiovascular system,while short people live longer and are healthier.

Social and relationship problems arecommon for people with height abnormalities. They are oftenmarginalized in the society and they usually have a tough childhood, havingdifficulties with other children. Each abnormality is bound to bejudged by status quo in our society, just as height is.