In regions of poverty or warfare, environmental factors like chronic malnutrition during childhood or adolescence may result in delayed growth and/or marked reductions in adult stature even without the presence of any of these medical conditions. A study of 20th-century British natality trends indicated that while tall men tended to reproduce more than short men, women of below-average height had more children than taller women. Determinants of growth and height
The study of height is known as auxology. Growth has long been recognized as a measure of the health of individuals, hence part of the reasoning for the use of growth charts. For individuals, as indicators of health problems, growth trends are tracked for significant deviations, and growth is also monitored for significant deficiency from genetic expectations. Genetics is a major factor in determining the height of individuals, though it is far less influential regarding differences among populations. Average height is relevant to the measurement of the health and wellness (standard of living and quality of life) of populations.Attributed as a significant reason for the trend of increasing height in parts of Europe are the egalitarian populations where proper medical care and adequate nutrition are relatively equally distributed. The uneven distribution of nutritional resources makes it more plausible for individuals with better access to resources to grow taller, while the other population group who does not have so much of a nutritious food availability height growth is not as promising. Average height in a nation is correlated with protein quality.
The tallest man in modern history was Robert Pershing Wadlow (1918–1940), from Illinois, United States, who was 272 cm (8 ft 11 in) at the time of his death. The tallest woman in medical history was Trijntje Keever of Edam, Netherlands, who stood 254 cm (8 ft 4 in) when she died at the age of seventeen. The shortest adult human on record was Chandra Bahadur Dangi of Nepal at 54.6 cm (1 ft 9+1⁄2 in). An anecdotal article titled "Ancient American Giants" from the 14 August 1880 edition of Scientific American notes a case from Brushcreek Township, Ohio, when Dr. J. F. Everhart supervised a team that discovered ancient clay coffins within a mound which were reported to contain skeletons of the following length: 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) woman with a child 3.5 ft 0 in (1.07 m), a second coffin with a 9 ft 0 in (2.74 m) man and 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) woman, a third coffin with a 9 ft 4 in (2.84 m) man and 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) woman, and seven other independent skeletons measuring between 8 ft 0 in (2.44 m) and 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m). An image and stone tablet were found with the giants.Adult height between populations often differs significantly. For example, the average height of women from the Czech Republic is greater than that of men from Malawi. This may be caused by genetic differences, childhood lifestyle differences (nutrition, sleep patterns, physical labor), or both.