The Dutch remain the largest in the world, but shrink b…

Until 1980, the Dutch kept getting taller: the average height of men increased by at least 8 cm in half a century to 183.9 cm; In women it was from 5 cm to 170.7 cm. But now the shelf is out, it turns out Figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). The Dutch remain the tallest people in the world, but fall short again. The 19-year-old Dutchman averaged 182.9 cm last year, while the female was 169.3 cm. Thus, women lose 1.4 cm.

The Dutch Statistical Office cites the reason as “the increasing immigration of new, shorter populations and children born from them in the Netherlands”, but it also sees growth slowing down when the country’s four grandparents were born. It appears that “men without an immigrant background did not grow taller, and women without an immigrant background show a decreasing trend”.

The Census Bureau also notes a clear difference between people from the north and south of the country. Since measurements made in 1930, Frisians and Groningers have been found to be on average about 3 to 3.5 cm taller than people from Dutch Limburg. This brings them almost to the level of Flemish, growth researcher Matthew Roelants (KU Leuven) said on Radio 1

CBS says Statistics Netherlands’ studies are based on self-reports. The altitudes of 719,000 people between the ages of 19 and 60 were examined.

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Geert Stolpe (University of Groningen), who is two meters tall and researcher in height, says that stagnant height is not a unique Dutch phenomenon. Growth is also stabilizing in the United States, for example, and women are shrinking slightly. It may be because people are starting to eat less: less variety, more oily. And that could play a role here in the Netherlands.” de Volkskrant.

The Dutch remain the largest country in the world. About a hundred years ago, giants came mainly from North America and Scandinavia, but the orange generation in the late fifties took the throne, not abandoning it. According to Dutch public radio, we The competition now comes from the East. Men from Montenegro, Estonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are approaching our northern neighbours.

And what about us? According to Roelants, the most recent representative figures in Flanders date back to 2004. At that time, the height of young men was 181 cm and young women were 167 cm. According to Roelants, this means that we are still “in the group, right behind the leader” globally.