Department of Economics, University of Munich, Ludwigstr. 33/IV, 80539 Munich, Germany.
Econ Hum Biol. 2010 Mar;8(1):58-66. doi: 10.1016/j.ehb.2009.12.004. Epub 2010 Jan 4.
Height trends since World War II are analyzed using the NHANES surveys for US-born individuals stratified by gender, ethnicity and income. After stagnating or declining for nearly a generation, the height of adult white men and women began to increase among the birth cohorts of ca. 1975-1986, who reached adulthood between 1995 and 2006. The increase in their height overcame the prior downturn that lasted between ca. 1965 and 1974. The height gap between white and black men has increased by 0.43cm (0.17in.) during past decade compared to the previous quarter century, to reach 1.0cm (0.39in.). In contrast to the three other groups examined, the height of black women has been actually declining by some 1.42cm (0.56in.). Consequently, a very considerable wedge has developed between black and white women's height of 1.95cm (0.77in.). In addition, black women in the age range 20-39 weigh some 9.5kg (21.0lb) more than their white counterparts. Two hypotheses are worth considering, namely, (a) that the decline in their height is related to the obesity epidemic and to inadequate dietary balance, and (b) that their future health will be subject to a double jeopardy in the sense that both their increasing weight and decreasing physical stature are likely associated with negative health consequences.
利用 NHANES 调查分析了自二战以来的身高趋势，这些调查根据性别、族裔和收入对美国出生的个体进行了分层。在近一代人的时间里停滞或下降之后，成年白种男性和女性的身高开始在大约 1975-1986 年出生的队列中增加，他们在 1995 年至 2006 年期间成年。他们的身高增长克服了此前从大约 1965 年到 1974 年持续的下降。在过去的十年中，白人和黑人男性之间的身高差距增加了 0.43 厘米（0.17 英寸），与前四分之一个世纪相比，达到了 1.0 厘米（0.39 英寸）。与其他三个被检查的群体相比，黑人女性的身高实际上下降了约 1.42 厘米（0.56 英寸）。因此，黑人和白人女性的身高差距已经达到了 1.95 厘米（0.77 英寸）。此外，20-39 岁的黑人女性比她们的白人同龄人重约 9.5 公斤（21.0 磅）。有两个假说值得考虑，即（a）她们身高的下降与肥胖症的流行和饮食不平衡有关，以及（b）她们未来的健康将面临双重风险，因为她们体重的增加和身高的下降都可能与健康后果有关。
