Meta-analyses of observational and clinical studies conducted in recent years have raised serious doubts about the validity of the low-fat dietary recommendations introduced in the late 1970s/early 1980s, due to the absence of any convincing link between saturated fat and the risk of cardiovascular diseases. At the same time, long-term food supply statistics from the FAOSTAT database show that these recommendations were at the root of fundamental dietary changes in Western countries, which resulted in a lower consumption of eggs and red meat, a higher consumption of cereals and poultry, a decline in average protein quality and, overall, in a higher glycemic load of the diet. Because current views on human nutrition are based primarily on highly unreliable questionnaire data from observational studies, the purpose of this commentary is to provide an alternative ecological (country-level) perspective and to trace the consequences of these nutritional changes using the FAOSTAT database in combination with available anthropological and health statistics. This comparison shows a close connection between the decline in protein quality and the sudden reversal of the positive height trend in some Western countries, after ∼150 years of continuous growth, which points to suboptimal levels of child nutrition. The sharp increase in the prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes is strongly correlated with the increasing consumption of high-glycemic carbohydrates and sweeteners, and is also interconnected with the decrease in body height, because a high-quality, growth-stimulating diet during adolescence is inversely related to obesity. Given the long-term association between height and phenotypic IQ, the lower quality of nutrients in children's diet may also seriously affect intellectual potential and future civilizational development. In light of these findings, current nutritional strategies should be seriously reconsidered and recommended protein intakes for children must be urgently reevaluated.

• Klíčová slova
• Child health, flynn effect, nutrition, obesity, physical growth,
• MeSH
• diabetes mellitus 2. typu epidemiologie   MeSH
• dieta * trendy   MeSH
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• obezita * epidemiologie   MeSH
• tělesná výška * MeSH
• zásobování potravinami * statistika a číselné údaje   MeSH
• Check Tag
• dítě MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mladiství MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

The inhabitants of the Dinaric Alps (former Yugoslavia and Albania) have long been known as people of impressive body height, but after World War II, there was a critical lack of data related to this phenomenon. This anthropological synthesis includes the measurements of 47,158 individuals (24,642 males and 22,516 females) from the period 2010−2018 and describes detailed regional differences in male stature in the Western Balkans. According to these data, young men from Montenegro (182.9 cm) are currently the tallest 18-year-olds in the world, surpassing their Dutch peers (182.4 cm), and 18-year-old boys from Dalmatia are even taller (183.7 cm) at a regional level. A continuous belt of extraordinary height means (>184 cm) stretches from the Adriatic coast of Dalmatia through Herzegovina to the central part of Montenegro. This article summarizes all the key socio-economic, nutritional, and genetic data, and offers possible explanations for this anthropological phenomenon. Since the remarkable height of the Dinaric populations cannot be connected with any commonly known environmental factor, the most probable hypothesis is genetic and links these physical characteristics with the local founder effect of Y haplogroup I-M170. Furthermore, given that both the level of socio-economic development and dietary protein quality are still sub-optimal, the local upward trend in body height has the potential to continue in the future.

• Klíčová slova
• Dinaric Alps, Europe, GWAS, Y haplogroups, genetics, height,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

The aim of this anthropometric survey was to map regional differences in height and body proportions in eight counties adjacent to the Adriatic coast of Croatia. Body height was measured in 1,803 males and 782 females aged 17-20 years at 66 schools in 23 towns. When corrected for population size in regions, mean male height is 182.6 cm in all eight counties, 182.8 cm in seven counties of Adriatic Croatia, and 183.7 cm in four counties of Dalmatia proper. Regional variation is considerable: from 180.6 cm in the county of Karlovac to 184.1 cm in the county of Split-Dalmacija. The mean height of females is based on more limited data (168.0 cm in seven counties). These results show that young men from Dalmatia are currently the tallest in the world in the age category of 18 years, and the north-to-south gradient of increasing stature on the Adriatic coast largely mirrors that in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The extraordinary values of height in Croatia and BiH can most likely be explained by unique genetic predispositions that are shared by the local populations of the Dinaric Alps.

• Klíčová slova
• Body proportions, Croatia, Dalmatia, Dinaric Alps, Height,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH