Why do people stereotype that Asians are short?

[jthm_nny]

I'm Sicilian and I happen to be SEVERAL inches shorter than most Asian people regardless of where they are from. You don't see many people in America saying SICILIANS are tiny! Why do most people focus so much on Asians when they simply aren't all that short?

[SeeMyu]

I've never heard that before, but that may be because I live in the South..

Many Asains that I know are not short at all. ;)

[paksetti]

It's generally because Asians and South/Central Americans tend to be shorter. It's not always the case, but it is an average. Of course, having mixed genes changes things. Here's one that rates height by nationality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height I couldn't find a site that rated people by race outside of the US, and usually we just use "black, white, hispanic, not hispanic", which isn't very good at all. Up at the top is Scandinavia, down at the bottom is Southeast Asia.

[SuicidiaParasidia]

It's generally because Asians and South/Central Americans tend to be shorter. It's not always the case, but it is an average.

ummmm..... yeah. this, lol. ^



better question: why is being called short seen as an insult if you are, in fact, not tall?

[piggypeach]

better question: why is being called short seen as an insult if you are, in fact, not tall?

I think it's just probably a boy thing, where it's kind of awkward if a tall girl is dating a short boy. And I guess it sort of makes you look "weaker". But with girls, I don't know anyone who takes it as an offense, but probably some girls do. My mom is really short, and she loves being short. I don't know why. It's different with every person.

[iCad]

Up at the top is Scandinavia, down at the bottom is Southeast Asia.

Ah, Scandinavia. Where the people are tall and beautiful. Swear, I was in Iceland for a few days and when I came out, I had an inferiority complex. I mean, I'm not short, for a woman. Almost 5'10. But the beautiful part....OMG, they grow 'em pretty up there! My homely Welsh-descent genes just can't compete. :lol:

But yeah, averages are exactly that. On average, Asians tend to be shorter than other ethnicities. But there are always exceptions. There's that Chinese basketball player who's over seven feet, for instance.

As for the "short stigma"....Well, I've heard my 5-foot-tall female friends complaining about finding clothes that fit...but then, department stores do tend to have a "petite" section. They don't generally have a "man-height woman" section, even though all the models are man-height. And it's a lot easier to have clothing shortened than it is to have it lengthened, which is basically impossible. :p

As for the guys...Society does expect men to be taller than women because they just generally are taller than women. So, if a guy is vertically-challenged in a culture where most men aren't, they do tend to be seen as lacking in "manhood," I suppose. Whatever. My ex-husband is about an inch shorter than I am. *shrugs*

What a weird species we are, eh? :lol:

[paksetti]

I'm the same height, and fuck if it doesn't always look like I'm trying on highwaters when I want to buy jeans.

[iCad]

I'm the same height, and fuck if it doesn't always look like I'm trying on highwaters when I want to buy jeans.

Exactly! If you're over about 5'7, I think you're screwed. If you're shorter than that, you can have stuff shortened, but if you're taller than that, you're shit out of luck, as they say. Unless you can find tall sizes. I do most of my shopping out of catalogs, but it's more of a pain than going to a store. :p Especially when you have to return something. :(

[ButchSims]

In ancient Rome, if you were 5'3, you were considered a GIANT!

[Shoosh Malooka]

Actually, at that height they would have said you were tall enough to join the legion. The taller ones not born in Rome became auxiliaries. The Gauls were actually a bit taller than Roman soldiers, but they were so disorganized.

[ButchSims]

so, the Roman Legion and the Rockettes have the same height requirements? who knew?

[haricots]

...down at the bottom is Southeast Asia.
LOL I am a living evidence of that. Only 5'5".. T_T

[BlakeS5678]

This is starting to feel less and less like a debate as the thread progresses...

[ButchSims]

This is starting to feel less and less like a debate as the thread progresses...was it ever really a debate in the first place?

[whiterider]

Let's not forget that it's "shorter". Which means there must be something in the gap in "Asians are shorter than _____s"; more likely to be "Asians are shorter than north Americans" or "Asians are shorter than northern Europeans", than it is to be "Asians are shorter than Sicilians".

As for why you don't often hear that Sicilians are short - well, most people have seen or met many more Asians in their lives than they have Sicilians.

And indeed, it ain't a debate, so thread moved.

[piggypeach]

Random Fact: In the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records, the tallest person in the world is a Chinese man.

[SommarBlomma]

That's a painful topic for me, not the whole "__s are shorter/taller than _____s", but my own height, I am only 5 ft 5 inches tall, and always feel like I am underdeveloped or something. I am well-built, and proportional, though, and many people say that I am very beautiful, but that height... hell, it makes me feel inferior. Not only guys desire to be tall, it is considered that taller girls are better, too.

[iCad]

That's a painful topic for me, not the whole "__s are shorter/taller than _____s", but my own height, I am only 5 ft 5 inches tall, and always feel like I am underdeveloped or something. I am well-built, and proportional, though, and many people say that I am very beautiful, but that height... hell, it makes me feel inferior. Not only guys desire to be tall, it is considered that taller girls are better, too.

I can understand shortness making people feel inferior. The whole "Napoleon complex," as it were. But 5'5, for a woman, is actually above average, for the most part. :\ (Unless you're Scandinavian, I guess, but even then you aren't far below average.)

Of course, taller is seen as more attractive, I suppose. Fashion models are all tall because, in general, clothing looks better on taller people (so "they" say) and because being tall helps to achieve the "angular" look that photographs well. Or something. Whatever. So, that has an influence on the cultural perception of height. But still, most women are a lot shorter than fashion models. Me, I'm tall, but I'm not skinny. Not obese, certainly, but I've definitely got my curves. So I don't fit the "standard," either. Not many people do. I wish it didn't matter to so many people, myself.

[piggypeach]

That's a painful topic for me, not the whole "__s are shorter/taller than _____s", but my own height, I am only 5 ft 5 inches tall, and always feel like I am underdeveloped or something. I am well-built, and proportional, though, and many people say that I am very beautiful, but that height... hell, it makes me feel inferior. Not only guys desire to be tall, it is considered that taller girls are better, too.

Guess what? My mom is 4 inches shorter than you. So if pretty much the rest of my family. 5ft 5 isn't bad at all :) I suppose maybe you just have very tall friends..?

[whiterider]

I had a friend at college who was 4'11". She thoroughly enjoyed pointing out that if she didn't gain another inch by the time she hit 18, she'd be legally classified as a dwarf, and it'd get her disability benefit: which was utterly ridiculous, her height didn't bother her at all or get in her way. At the end of the day, doesn't really matter what shape you are, what matters is the shape you think you should be. Which should generally be "Well, pretty much this shape", unless there's some medical reason why you need to be a different shape. Or unless you're a kitten playing with a Sylvanian Families mirror.

She did do this wonderful flying hug thing, though, which could be excruciating if you happened to be a guy with long legs.

[SommarBlomma]

I suppose maybe you just have very tall friends..?

Most but a few of my friends are taller than me. Of course I fix that by wearing platfroms, heeled or wedged shoes all the time, so I look the same as them or slightly shorter (but the difference is small and doesn't matter) but still... I guess it is such a contradictory human nature - we may try to stand out and be different in some aspects, but still we have that deeply hidden desire to fit into the standards. And, ironically, standards change drastically, there were times, when a woman was supposed to be shortish and very curvy (like Merilyn Monroe), and now we are supposed to be tall and slim. And, who knows what fashion will dictate us in the nearest future...:)

[Suki_Yohama5252]

lol I am asian and i am 5 foot tall! i am a shorty!!! haha

[WayBack]

That's a painful topic for me, not the whole "__s are shorter/taller than _____s", but my own height, I am only 5 ft 5 inches tall, and always feel like I am underdeveloped or something. I am well-built, and proportional, though, and many people say that I am very beautiful, but that height... hell, it makes me feel inferior. Not only guys desire to be tall, it is considered that taller girls are better, too.

You're not underdeveloped or inferior. Don't let anyone make you feel that way. You're the same height as me, and I've never met anyone who would point out my height as an issue. All my friends, except for one, are taller than me. So what? It doesn't bother me at all. One of my friend's palm is bigger than my hand. He thinks it's cute; I think it's funny. No hurt feelings involved. Wouldn't it be boring if we were all the same?

[kampffenhoff]

I'm 4 ft 10 and my Husband is 5 ft 7. All my friends and a great many of their kids are taller than I am. Don't anyone worry about being short because there are always folk shorter than you are someplace, like me for example.

[Volvenom]

SommerBlomma is probably swedish, that is scandinavian. I don't know this feet thing, why don't we all use metric? I'm pretty small 160 cm about. It doesn't really bother me though.

I work in a place with lots of people coming and going from different nationalities or "genes". I don't like to use the word race, because it reminds me of WWII doctrine. In my experience asian usually are low, but some of them are not. Who is asian and who isn't can sometimes be hard to tell.

I've heard it has something to do with warm climate and how it distribute heat or catch on heat. I don't know. Where asians live it usually is very hot, in scandinavian or nordic countries it's usually cold. So I guess according to this theory we need more surface to catch the heat, but then I guess we have more surface to lose heat too ...

So where you live is more important then your genes, even though it is an hereditary thing.

[Gabrymato]

I heard it was partially genetic and partially because of nutrition.
In fact I saw a show on TV where they said a caucasian man went to Japan forty years ago and was considered a giant among japanese people, who were shorter. He came back in the 2000's and he was just average height. I think it's because Asian and South American (I'm particularly thinking about those southern americans who live on the Andes) used to have much poorer eating habits and diets than our "western" ones. They just didn't have our variety of foods, which caused some kind of decompensation.
That's why they are tall like us now, and that's why, as someone said before, people were shorter in Ancient times: they missed items in their nutrition.

Which leads to another question: were they MISSING nutrition at the time or are we taking TOO much nutrition nowadays (which causes our body to grow exponentially?).

[crocobaura]

Asians aren't always short but they do have a very small frame. Height has a lot to do with food intake, particularly in the early years. For this reason, Asians from well developed countries will be taller on average than those from poor countries.

[kampffenhoff]

I'm 4 ft 10 and my Husband is 5 ft 7. All my friends and a great many of their kids are taller than I am. Don't anyone worry about being short because there are always folk shorter than you are someplace, like me for example.

Of course I tell everyone I'm 5 foot----

[Volvenom]

I heard it was partially genetic and partially because of nutrition.
In fact I saw a show on TV where they said a caucasian man went to Japan forty years ago and was considered a giant among japanese people, who were shorter. He came back in the 2000's and he was just average height. I think it's because Asian and South American (I'm particularly thinking about those southern americans who live on the Andes) used to have much poorer eating habits and diets than our "western" ones. They just didn't have our variety of foods, which caused some kind of decompensation.
That's why they are tall like us now, and that's why, as someone said before, people were shorter in Ancient times: they missed items in their nutrition.

Which leads to another question: were they MISSING nutrition at the time or are we taking TOO much nutrition nowadays (which causes our body to grow exponentially?).

The impression I have is that we all grow higher all over the world, that would indicate it's a general development amoung humans.

When it comes to nutrician, I'm not sure that's true. It would not explain why nordic people are so high, because malnutrician and famine was a very common issue here. There must surely be much more food available in wet countries around the equator?

[piggypeach]

My 7th grade social studies teacher once told me this story about how he traveled to a country in central America, I forget which one, and the average height was much lower there, and he felt like a giant. To be fair, he is pretty tall. But it was a funny story.

[HillBillyNerd]

I live in a place with not much ethnic diversity and the only people who are Asian are super short. Also, my friend is Asian ( her family comes from Okinawa) and I met her family. I was taller than all of them. I think that it's less of a stereotype and more of genetics. Not to offend anyone. It's just that genetics actually effects the size of your body and stuff like that.

[KKiryu007Joker]

Asian people seem to be smaller in frame usually, but it isn't a complete rule, thought it builds the stereotype I suppose.

[BloodyScholastic]

I'm Asian, female, my height is about 5 ft 3. Shorty, right? :giggler:

[malfoya]

I don't think genetics (like height as you mentioned) has much to do with stereotyping. Rather clothes, image, interests, personality etc. Like the typical jock, bimbo, gangsta, nerd.. People are defined by how they dress, talk and act. I've heard more about people stereotyping Asians as bad drivers, Jamaicans as potheads, Jews as greedy (to mention some).. Stereotyping is most often used for negative, ironic or funny occasions. Like in books or on tv. For some it might be offending, for others funny.

[jthm_nny]

I'm Asian, female, my height is about 5 ft 3. Shorty, right? :giggler:
About 3 inches taller than me :)

[Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust]

Asians aren't always short but they do have a very small frame. Height has a lot to do with food intake, particularly in the early years. For this reason, Asians from well developed countries will be taller on average than those from poor countries.

I've noticed this as well. When I lived in Taiwan I towered over everyone (5'11) but over here it's definitely not as noticeable

[Elexis]

Probably every country or race has it's stereotypes, that's just how some people use to highlight ones from the others : D

Is it just a random thing? No. Every stereotype has it's base, mostly determined by the common things among that race or country. Average height for Asians is shorter than Europeans or Americans, so this stereotype didn't show up out of nowhere.

Of course, some of the stereotypes can be completely off just because of the lack of knowledge about certain kind of people or all kinds of crappy media around us:

Example: all Russian people are actually bears on unicycles with the bottle of Vodka their paws.
Reality: Most of the westerners aren't familiar very well with the this culture and usually judge from one example which does not represent the whole country. Huge thanks to Family Guy for ruining the impression of Russian people :D

As with all stereotypes - they can't be applied to everyone. So don't be obsessed with your height and don't take any of them seriously.

[GnatGoSplat]

I'm Asian (parents both from Taiwan) and they are both short. Mom is 5' 2", dad is 5" 3", or he was when he was younger, I think he's shorter now. My sisters are both around that height, I think one is closer to 5'.
Through a wonderful American diet of pizza, burgers, and sugary sodas, I managed to grow up to 5' 10" and am equal in height to most people who claim to be 6' (I've noticed most people round up). Gabrymato is probably right about nutrition. Traditional Chinese food is probably low in calories compared to delicious American fast food.

With the increasing prevalence of fast food in Asian countries, I'm sure future generations of Asians will be both taller and bigger.

[AlexandraSpears]

I'm 5'4, half Polish, nearly half NW European, with a dash of Cherokee thrown in. I'm about the average height for an American woman.

Race is more than skin color. I've heard it said that blacks are more likely to have multiple births, Asians least likely, and whites in between. No surprise that height is another characteristic. All the Asians (particularly East Asians) I've known were on the short side, not that there's anything wrong with it.

Vive la difference!

[SyrupFiend]

Well, basically, it's not a stereotype, it's just a physiological fact. I have never in my life met an Asian that wasn't at least 3 or 4 inches shorter than me (I'm 5"6) and I live in New Zealand, that has tonnes and tonnes of Asian immigrants and exchange students. I went to Hong Kong a couple of years ago, although I'm pretty average height, I literally towered over the Asians there. I'd say the tallest among them (including men) was probably around 5"5. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them being generally smaller. Even in clothing sizes, an Asian size Large is usually around a Western Small. They are a generally petite small people.

And to be honest, I'd say the same about Italians. I spent a week in Italy a year ago, and I only met around 3 Italians (yes I counted haha) that were taller than me, and they were all men.

In Britain however, I was practically considered short, most of the women were a lot taller than me. It just has to do with geographic locations as to why different ethinicites are different heights.

[zneimer]

I have an anthropological reason as to why typically Asian geographical clines have shorter people. It was a way in which the homo sapiens adapted their bodies to the cold. You actually Have more surface area on your skin if you are shorter, ergo, You have have more area to absorb the sun and it's heat. Vice-a-Versa, most AFrican geographical clines have tall people, less surface area, less heat to absorb.


Edit: Race as a substantial term, is a fallacy. It is my BIGGEST pet-peeve.

[leogal]

I call it mild racism...

[magikal]

I think it's because Asian and South American (I'm particularly thinking about those southern americans who live on the Andes) used to have much poorer eating habits and diets than our "western" ones. They just didn't have our variety of foods, which caused some kind of decompensation.

I am of Asian descent, and I really disagree with the 'poor eating habbits' stuff. I wouldn't call a meal of junk food a good eating habbit. Asians, on general, have healthier eating habits IMO. You are very unlikely to find many obese Asians.

Asians in general eat lesser meat, and that may have contributed to lower height. But to call the eating habits 'poorer', is for me mildly racist.

[GnatGoSplat]

I am of Asian descent, and I really disagree with the 'poor eating habbits' stuff. I wouldn't call a meal of junk food a good eating habbit. Asians, on general, have healthier eating habits IMO. You are very unlikely to find many obese Asians.

Asians in general eat lesser meat, and that may have contributed to lower height. But to call the eating habits 'poorer', is for me mildly racist.

Good point, the word "poor" is definitely not how I would describe the traditional Asian diet. I believe it is generally much healthier, but also lower calorie and lower fat. That's why people in many Asian countries enjoy a slightly better life expectancy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy) and much lower obesity rate (http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity).

However, if Asian people eat a high-fat, high-calorie diet like they do in America, you will end up with Asians that are fatter and taller. Apparently in China, they are embracing American fast food and the average 6yr old is now 2.5" taller and 6.6lbs heavier than 30-years ago. (source (http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-01-08-chinese-obesity_x.htm)) In fact, I've seen many presumably 2nd generation young Asian males where I live that tower above my 5'10". I saw a couple younger Asian guys at a buffet recently that were both big, probably around 220-240lbs and 6'2" or so.

[zneimer]

I pretty much explained it aye, I did.

[GnatGoSplat]

I pretty much explained it aye, I did.

Yeah, but you are wrong. It seemed like you were saying Asians are shorter because they come from colder climates. Many Asians come from hot, humid, tropical climates. My family is from Taiwan and it's a hot, humid place.

[VerDeTerre]

If you're talking about evolution, you are talking about change over time - lots of time. It doesn't happen within one or two generations. The theory related to height has to do with most changes that took place a long time ago, before people migrated to their current positions and when the climate was different in most parts of the world from what it is today. Asia is a huge place. Not everyone lived in the south and it had a different climate at the time the adaptions took place.

But now you have me curious about where the people of modern day Taiwan come from. I love Wikipedia, here's a starting point only. There's so much more to follow now about the various groups there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_people

[Eliza_Stockton]

157 cm (5' 2") and scandinavian, wish I was taller.. I mean just a little bit taller.

[zneimer]

Yeah, but you are wrong. It seemed like you were saying Asians are shorter because they come from colder climates. Many Asians come from hot, humid, tropical climates. My family is from Taiwan and it's a hot, humid place.

No, mate I'm still right. Because the predecessors of Asians today lived a GREAT period of time in the colder climates. Generation after generation after generation adapted to this cold climate.

And then obviously, we have to take into accounts that humans were always migrating, incrementally though, so some Asiatic communities express different phenotypical features based on HOW LONG they(They-the previous generations to the current ones) have been exposed to a certain environment. But the fact is most of human communities were exposed to colder climates longer than hotter climates (after we migrated out of Africa that is.)

However, I do agree that stereotypes are indeed ill in logic, as not everyone in the world can meet all the generalizations, especially now, since humans have broken down the barriers of inter-cultural relationships.


The time it takes for the changes made to the humans of the same geographical cline after generations and generations of habitation in the same environment, PALE in comparison to the changes made by sexual selection in the culture.

Because now, more geographical clines are introduced to more and more outside genes in there pool to influence how a person might look!!!


-Paublo

[zneimer]

If you're talking about evolution, you are talking about change over time - lots of time. It doesn't happen within one or two generations. The theory related to height has to do with most changes that took place a long time ago, before people migrated to their current positions and when the climate was different in most parts of the world from what it is today. Asia is a huge place. Not everyone lived in the south and it had a different climate at the time the adaptions took place.

But now you have me curious about where the people of modern day Taiwan come from. I love Wikipedia, here's a starting point only. There's so much more to follow now about the various groups there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_people

Also believe it or not, though it's true, the people who inhabit Taiwan today have only recently been there!

Polynesians and most aborigines (Mostly from australia though) actually inhabited Taiwan a long time ago and for quite a while. There habitation there dates back to the prehistoric times (Paleolithic time- Stone age)

[zneimer]

If you're talking about evolution, you are talking about change over time - lots of time. It doesn't happen within one or two generations. The theory related to height has to do with most changes that took place a long time ago, before people migrated to their current positions and when the climate was different in most parts of the world from what it is today. Asia is a huge place. Not everyone lived in the south and it had a different climate at the time the adaptions took place.

But now you have me curious about where the people of modern day Taiwan come from. I love Wikipedia, here's a starting point only. There's so much more to follow now about the various groups there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwanese_people

Wikipedia is not a good source of information. It isn't reliable and you don't know who is writing these things.

[minimogut]

I just like coming on here, and seeing people say "I'm only 5'5", I'm so short!" And then I'm sitting over here, like "Hey, guys. I'm 5'3" and I'm not going to grow anymore!" One of my friends is nearly my age, and she's even shorter. She looks like she's 6, but she's 13/14 now. I'm shorter than my mom... :(

[VerDeTerre]

Wikipedia is not a good source of information. It isn't reliable and you don't know who is writing these things. It's better than you think, but of course it isn't reliable. What it's good for (and why I love it) is giving you a straight and easy answer when so many other sources give round-about or very complicated ones. It's the equivalent of leaning over to your neighbor or friend and asking "what does so & so mean?". I love asking people for information. Then I go and research what they say to confirm. I use Wikipedia the same way. It's never a source for research, but very often a place to start to get general background information about a subject. Further, since the sources are given at the bottom of each article, you can see the where the author gets his information. When an article hasn't been verified, there is usually a disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Wikipedia has improved over the past few years and is becoming a better source of reliable information.

The article I referenced is a great springboard for research.

The only thing is, this doesn't answer the OP's question because the question was not "Why are Asians short?" (which many are not), but rather "Why do people think they are?". The OP is asking about perceptions.

@ minimogut - People's perception of height is funny. Short is great! I've often joked that if everyone was shorter, there would be more room on the planet.

[GnatGoSplat]

No, mate I'm still right. Because the predecessors of Asians today lived a GREAT period of time in the colder climates. Generation after generation after generation adapted to this cold climate.

Still, your explanation is based on genetics/evolution and does not explain the rapid increase in size and height just within the span of one generation. A great deal of 2nd generation Asian-Americans are taller than their parents, in some cases, much taller, and they are also increasing in size and height on average in urban China where an American high-fat, high-calorie diet has become more popular. I even found some forum thread (http://www.giantscientific.com/height_gain_forum/viewtopic.php?p=10294&sid=4ec66c5d0e7940e4381ce0baa13c9b94) where someone observed much taller Chinese in urban areas. The wheat vs rice that someone mentioned in that forum thread as possibly having a link to height has also been mentioned on this wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_and_southern_China). Perhaps coincidence, but wheat vs rice affecting height also makes sense because when my mom would cook, my sisters preferred rice whereas I greatly preferred noodles and I loved dumplings. They are short whereas I am tall, and perhaps no coincidence, but the sister who primarily ate vegetarian growing up is several inches shorter and also thinner than the one that wasn't.

IMO, diet can have a significant impact on height, perhaps more so than genetics and evolution.

[TortureTheNannies]

Diet is certainly as important as genetics (maybe more so, genes haven't changed as much as diet). This also explains the disappearance of the "yellow skin" stereotype of Asians. Having travelled to Asia, I wondered where this image originated, because yellow seems to have disappeared. Maybe the only understanable theory I fouind is a previous jaundice epidemic has been cured, but maybe a better guess is their unique mix of melanization, which determines the spectrum of skin colors. Asians aren't yellow, if they ever were. I did see more variety of colors than I expected, some of them whiter than I.

As for short, I think several people have posted about this already. About 10% of Asians will be shorter than westerners. About 10% westerners will be taller than Asians. For the other 80% genetics and diet have made a large amount of overlap and the average person is the same height. That means any given Asian may be shorter or taller than I am. Those that I actually know, she said she's very short. I said "your eyes are at the same level as my nose. You're not short."

[GnatGoSplat]

I never thought the "yellow skin" stereotype of Asians was literal. I thought it was just peoples' way of categorizing people by color. I thought it was the same way white people aren't truly white and black people aren't truly black. I've heard of Latinos as "brown", Native Americans as "red", and Asians as "yellow", but I see a lot of similarities in skin color and complexion between the three.

[VerDeTerre]

I would agree that the difference you see within a generation or two is most definitely a result of improved nutrition.

I learned something very interesting on this topic in a history class once. In the US, when there was one of the huge waves of immigration around the turn of the 20th century, some people (probably those in the dominant, established ethnic groups) claimed that people of Jewish or Slavic origin were inferior and pointed to their small little heads that did not have the "beautiful" shape that was found on the heads of those descended from England and other Northern European countries. But, someone was paying attention and took head measurements and documented the appearance of the heads as well as the body frames of these immigrants. Within one or two generations (and now I can't remember, but I thought it was one), with improved nutrition available in the US, the head shape changed to resemble those of the dominant ethnic groups and the differences that had been complained about had disappeared. Nutrition played a major role in the physical development and subsequent appearance of people.

[krazyredd]

It is not a stereotype, if it partly factual. I mean the average Asian Person is approximately 5' 2'' tall, therefore, I doubt there is much Stereotyping going on. :duck:

[zneimer]

Still, your explanation is based on genetics/evolution and does not explain the rapid increase in size and height just within the span of one generation. A great deal of 2nd generation Asian-Americans are taller than their parents, in some cases, much taller, and they are also increasing in size and height on average in urban China where an American high-fat, high-calorie diet has become more popular. I even found some forum thread (http://www.giantscientific.com/height_gain_forum/viewtopic.php?p=10294&sid=4ec66c5d0e7940e4381ce0baa13c9b94) where someone observed much taller Chinese in urban areas. The wheat vs rice that someone mentioned in that forum thread as possibly having a link to height has also been mentioned on this wikipedia page (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_and_southern_China). Perhaps coincidence, but wheat vs rice affecting height also makes sense because when my mom would cook, my sisters preferred rice whereas I greatly preferred noodles and I loved dumplings. They are short whereas I am tall, and perhaps no coincidence, but the sister who primarily ate vegetarian growing up is several inches shorter and also thinner than the one that wasn't.

IMO, diet can have a significant impact on height, perhaps more so than genetics and evolution.

You left something out that was significant..... That I posted earlier
"The time it takes for the changes made to the humans of the same geographical cline after generations and generations of habitation in the same environment, PALE in comparison to the changes made by sexual selection in the culture.

Because now, more geographical clines are introduced to more and more outside genes in there pool to influence how a person might look!!!"

To reiterate.....
Sexual Selection in evolutionary processes SPEED up the overall changes of a group of people inhabiting a specific geographical community.


As far as an increase in dietary consumption,

That is an anomaly, much like the alligator in the swamp growing to enormous weights and size because the alligator has no competition in his habitat and therefore feeds much more often.

Until a whole specified region and the people who inhabit it have experienced rapid changes in height due to the consumption of a broader range of foods and an increase in consumption, it is just an anomaly. And might I remind you, that your question is that of "Asians" in general, and not "Why am I tall Asian?"



What you DO end up seeing a lot, if I may enlighten thee friend, is that because Humans are SO used to bouts of famine in their history and prehistory, specific humans to specific geographical locations actually have developed a way to store fat in their bodies better. The human body is (with a few exceptions) able to HOLD on with the "jaws of life" to fat so that they were able to stave off hunger....


Which has led some researchers to believe that our urbanized civilization toady has introduced the human public to a new type of malnutrition: Processed FATs... and thus we see more people gain weight more rapidly and ergo, this weight is very hard to get rid of because the human body so far is built to fight off hunger and store as much fat from food into their bodies.

They call this the thrifty gene.

The point is, yes Asians are short in comparison to the world. This is due largely to their prehistoric habitat and environment shaping their bodies to adapt to it.

And yes we see "tall asians" But, it is an anomaly and cannot be included in what the general notion of the size of asians are. We can attest this variable to sexual selection and part of it to dietary changes. But these anomalies occur on an individual level and NOT within a geographical cline.

Furthermore, the idea that asians are considered yellow, native americans red and so on, was an idea created by a BASTARD by the name of carl linneous (might have spelled that wrong).... If you read linneous's REPREHENSIBLE book that there exists the idea of Race within modern day humans, and see that he described asians as yellow and greedy. And african americans as blacks, lazy & unintelligent (and caucasians as blonde, beautiful & smart(note-people from the Caucasus mountains do not have blonde hair...haha)), you might want to reconsider the deplorable boundaries set up by the "man" in order to Systematically justify the enslavement of people in history. (Not just american history, NAzi Germany, and the conflict in darfur, and much more!)

I've said all I needed to say. Thanks for the conversational stimulation.... Maybe in the future, I'll teach in a university about anthropology.