The purpose of this study is to explore the main correlates of male height in 105 countries in Europe & overseas, Asia, North Africa and Oceania. Actual data on male height are compared with the average consumption of 28 protein sources (FAOSTAT, 1993-2009) and seven socioeconomic indicators (according to the World Bank, the CIA World Factbook and the United Nations). This comparison identified three fundamental types of diets based on rice, wheat and milk, respectively. The consumption of rice dominates in tropical Asia, where it is accompanied by very low total protein and energy intake, and one of the shortest statures in the world (∼162-168cm). Wheat prevails in Muslim countries in North Africa and the Near East, which is where we also observe the highest plant protein consumption in the world and moderately tall statures that do not exceed 174cm. In taller nations, the intake of protein and energy no longer fundamentally rises, but the consumption of plant proteins markedly decreases at the expense of animal proteins, especially those from dairy. Their highest consumption rates can be found in Northern and Central Europe, with the global peak of male height in the Netherlands (184cm). In general, when only the complete data from 72 countries were considered, the consumption of protein from the five most correlated foods (r=0.85) and the human development index (r=0.84) are most strongly associated with tall statures. A notable finding is the low consumption of the most correlated proteins in Muslim oil superpowers and highly developed countries of East Asia, which could explain their lagging behind Europe in terms of physical stature.

• MeSH
• antropometrie MeSH
• celosvětové zdraví * MeSH
• dětská úmrtnost trendy   MeSH
• dieta statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• dietní proteiny * MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• haplotypy MeSH
• hrubý domácí produkt statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• městské obyvatelstvo statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mléko MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• porodnost MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• pšenice MeSH
• rozvojové země statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• rýže (rod) MeSH
• socioekonomické faktory MeSH
• tělesná výška * MeSH
• výdaje na zdravotnictví statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• vyspělé země statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Check Tag
• dospělí MeSH
• kojenec MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• mladý dospělý MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• novorozenec MeSH
• předškolní dítě MeSH
• zvířata MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

The aim of this study was to identify the most important variables determining current differences in physical stature in Europe and some of its overseas offshoots such as Australia, New Zealand and USA. We collected data on the height of young men from 45 countries and compared them with long-term averages of food consumption from the FAOSTAT database, various development indicators compiled by the World Bank and the CIA World Factbook, and frequencies of several genetic markers. Our analysis demonstrates that the most important factor explaining current differences in stature among nations of European origin is the level of nutrition, especially the ratio between the intake of high-quality proteins from milk products, pork meat and fish, and low-quality proteins from wheat. Possible genetic factors such as the distribution of Y haplogroup I-M170, combined frequencies of Y haplogroups I-M170 and R1b-U106, or the phenotypic distribution of lactose tolerance emerge as comparably important, but the available data are more limited. Moderately significant positive correlations were also found with GDP per capita, health expenditure and partly with the level of urbanization that influences male stature in Western Europe. In contrast, male height correlated inversely with children's mortality and social inequality (Gini index). These results could inspire social and nutritional guidelines that would lead to the optimization of physical growth in children and maximization of the genetic potential, both at the individual and national level.

• MeSH
• běloši MeSH
• celosvětové zdraví MeSH
• dětská úmrtnost MeSH
• dieta statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• genetické markery MeSH
• genotyp * MeSH
• guanosindifosfát MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• nutriční stav * MeSH
• socioekonomické faktory MeSH
• tělesná výška genetika   fyziologie   MeSH
• tělesné váhy a míry MeSH
• výdaje na zdravotnictví MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• dospělí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mužské pohlaví MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH