ArticleAmerican journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council2025
Political Liberation, Hope, and Social Competition Are the Motor of Secular Trends in Height.
Article in American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Multilevel Effects of Socioeconomic Factors on the Somatic Status of Contemporary Youth Across Russian Regions.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026Article
- Secular Trend and Socioeconomic Variation in Body Height of Young Polish Men Between 1965 and 2023.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2026Article
- A theoretical model of secular body mass index dynamics among Russian adults under changing socio-economic conditions.Journal of physiological anthropology · 2025Article
- The decline in the physical stature of the U.S. population parallels the diminution in the rate of increase in life expectancy.SSM - population health · 2025Article
- Political Liberation, Hope, and Social Competition Are the Motor of Secular Trends in Height.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Article
- Avoiding "Too Tall" and "Too Short": The Effect of the Community on the Regulation of Body Height.American journal of human biology : the official journal of the Human Biology Council · 2025Article
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Abstract
backgroundLong-term improvements in physical living conditions correlate with long-term trends in height.
aimTo link temporal characteristics of the secular trend in height with the simultaneous political and economic dynamics. SAMPLE AND
methodsHeight of men of the German Armed Forces born between 1865 and 1975 was correlated with indicators of economic prosperity (GDP), nutrition and health (infant mortality), and indicators of social inhomogeneity (income inequality and household wealth share). The time periods before 1916, between 1916 and 1933, 1947, 1973, and after 1989 were separately analyzed. Coherence analysis was used to assess the changes in the temporal trends.
resultsMean height of young adult men increased by 0.45 mm/year (before 1916), by 2.15 mm/year (1916-1933), by 1.87 mm/year in the early Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) until 1973, by 1.45 mm/year in the late FRG, and by 4 mm/year in East German conscripts after the reunification in 1989. The most substantial height increments occurred in periods of political upheaval and loss of state authority.
conclusionThe nonlinear pattern of secular height increments in Germany since the late 19th century suggests that political liberation, hope for a better life, and illusions of equity, freedom, justice, and the expectation of social advancement are associated with competitive growth, strategic growth adjustments, and finally, long-term and substantial secular trends in height.
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