The estimated mean height of English, German, and Scottish soldiers was 163.6 cm (5 ft 4+1⁄2 in) – 165.9 cm (5 ft 5+1⁄2 in) for the period as a whole, while that of Irish was 167.9 cm (5 ft 6 in). The average height of male slaves and convicts in North America was 171 cm (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in).The average height of Americans and Europeans decreased during periods of rapid industrialization, possibly due to rapid population growth and broad decreases in economic status. This has become known as the early-industrial growth puzzle in the U.S. context the Antebellum Puzzle. In England during the early nineteenth century, the difference between the average height of English upper-class youth (students of Sandhurst Military Academy) and English working-class youth (Marine Society boys) reached 22 cm (8+1⁄2 in), the highest that has been observed.Data derived from burials show that before 1850, the mean stature of males and females in Leiden, The Netherlands was respectively 167.7 cm (5 ft 6 in) and 156.7 cm (5 ft 1+1⁄2 in). The average height of 19-year-old Dutch orphans in 1865 was 160 cm (5 ft 3 in).According to a study by J.W. Drukker and Vincent Tassenaar, the average height of a Dutch person decreased from 1830 to 1857, even while Dutch real GNP per capita was growing at an average rate of more than 0.5% per year. The worst decline was in urban areas that in 1847, the urban height penalty was 2.5 cm (0.98 in).
Human height or stature is the distance from the bottom of the feet to the top of the head in a human body, standing erect. It is measured using a stadiometer, in centimetres when using the metric system, or feet and inches when using United States customary units or the imperial system.In the early phase of anthropometric research history, questions about height techniques for measuring nutritional status often concerned genetic differences.Height is also important because it is closely correlated with other health components, such as life expectancy. Studies show that there is a correlation between small stature and a longer life expectancy. Individuals of small stature are also more likely to have lower blood pressure and are less likely to acquire cancer. The University of Hawaii has found that the "longevity gene" FOXO3 that reduces the effects of aging is more commonly found in individuals of small body size. Short stature decreases the risk of venous insufficiency.When populations share genetic backgrounds and environmental factors, average height is frequently characteristic within the group. Exceptional height variation (around 20% deviation from average) within such a population is sometimes due to gigantism or dwarfism, which are medical conditions caused by specific genes or endocrine abnormalities.The development of human height can serve as an indicator of two key welfare components, namely nutritional quality and health.