[ptoo]

Using the terminology of children turning out slightly "better" in cities in the context of height is slightly distasteful, even though it is societally quite prevalent. Height is an arbitrary physical trait, much like race. Who cares who turns out taller? Discounting malnutrition, there are no health benefits to being taller. There are of course social advantages, but the same can be said for race too. When will we begin addressing heightism in the same respect as other obviously unimportant phenotypic differences?

[Vrondi]

Malnutrition is the thing to worry about. Or perhaps toxins. We know that people don't grow to their full possible genetic height due to such things, and it seems natural to wonder if there are any other unrealized effects when they fail to reach their full possible height.

[Rury]

Well on one hand, shorter people tend to live longer, and tend to have better health in old age. Additionally, people who eat less also tend to live longer and healthier lives. There might be a tradeoff when it comes to our height and health, like what's proposed by the antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis.

[ptoo]

Why does it matter if they reach their full possible height, barring health complications? At least 80% of height is genetic so creating a value system based upon something that has no bearing on a person's qualities, aesthetic or psychological, is of no importance. Always substitute race for height and see how the line of argument sounds. The only difference is that one trait is generally culturally acceptable to disparage while the other is not.

[strken]

It's an indicator for overall health, and more specifically for health during childhood. When indicators for health go down it's important to study them. A child who is taller is not necessarily better than one who is shorter, but a child who didn't catch a serious growth-stunting disease is definitely better off than if they had, assuming the disease had other effects.

Back when polio was common you could tell what areas had been hit the hardest and in which year by looking at average height in school photos. My grandfather had oddly short legs but a long torso because of a very mild bout of polio as a child. This is important not because he was shorter than he might have been, but because more serious cases of polio can cause paralysis, permanently malformed legs, and death. Height in this case is a proxy for worse things.

Height discrimination may actually be due to its usefulness as a proxy for genetic damage and disease load during mate selection. The same thing that causes people to unfairly discriminate makes it useful for studying population changes.

[comfypotato]

You misread the headline. People outside cities are taller.

Also, taller people are healthier (admittedly only indirectly because of their height). It’s not just a comment on health. Height is a social advantage.

That being said, the article is a gross oversimplification. The top comment accurately points out a lack of control for even ethnicity (which would completely explain the difference in height in the US).

[ptoo]

My point doesn't relate to whether rural or urban children become taller. Height is largely genetic, and discounting malnutrition it has no bearing on a person's health. Shorter people actually live longer on average.

Social advantages based on arbitrary phenotypic traits should not be encouraged. White people generally have social advantages given the fact that racism exists.

[hammock]

Maybe we can start saying "stature" instead of "height." And like gender, stature is a social construct

[ptoo]

Height certainly exists, but it has no bearing on a person's worth, despite what this article or society at large would have you believe.

[dsfyu404ed]

Social advantages confer every other kind of advantage at least at the statistical level.

[ptoo]

Again, substitute the "socially beneficial" arbitrary trait of height for race and ask yourself if that sounds acceptable. Should people opt for white children simply because racism exists? Should people opt for tall children because heightism exists? How do you make the distinction in your own mind?

[trallnag]

It's a good indicator.

[whiddershins]

Given identical genetics, height is likely an indicator of overall health.