The Nilotic people are characterized as having long legs, narrow bodies and short trunks, an adaptation to hot weather. However, male Dinka and Shilluk refugees measured in 1995 in Southwestern Ethiopia were on average only 176.4 cm (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in) and 172.6 cm (5 ft 8 in) tall, respectively. As the study points out, Nilotic people "may attain greater height if privileged with favourable environmental conditions during early childhood and adolescence, allowing full expression of the genetic material." Before fleeing, these refugees were subject to privation as a consequence of the succession of civil wars in their country from 1955 to the present. The tallest living married couple are ex-basketball players Yao Ming and Ye Li (both of China) who measure 228.6 cm (7 ft 6 in) and 190.5 cm (6 ft 3 in) respectively, giving a combined height of 419.1 cm (13 ft 9 in). They married in Shanghai, China, on 6 August 2007.In Tibet, the Khampas are known for their great height. Khampa males are on average 180 cm (5 ft 11 in). Role of an individuals height
Height and health
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 a small body size. Short stature decreases the risk of venous insufficiency.
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).