I think it's all part of a nefarious gene-engineering plot to exert Dutch control over the game of basketball... ___________ It's not only tulips that grow tall in Holland Survey shows Dutch are tallest on planet -- and getting heavier Updated: 4:18 p.m. ET July 22, 2004 Reuters AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - The Dutch, already the tallest people on the planet, are still growing in height while also packing on the pounds. The market research organization GfK said on Thursday that data collected over the last seven years showed increasing demand for larger clothing sizes in the Netherlands, where the average man is about 6 feet, 1 inch, tall. “The Dutch are growing,” said GfK spokesman Koen Snoeren. The Dutch are nearly four inches taller on average than the British and Americans, and almost six inches taller than they were four decades ago. GfK’s analysis supports recent studies, including one by Professor Robert Fogel for the Pan American Health Organization, that ranks the Dutch as the tallest people on the planet. Fogel and other researchers put it down to affluence, a diet rich in dairy products, and good hygiene and health care. Studies by the Health Council of the Netherlands suggest the Dutch could grow another four inches in the next few decades. But some data, including GfK’s, also suggest junk food is limiting the health advantages that wealth has brought. Nearly half of the population is overweight, and the council says that in a decade it could be two-thirds, around the level of the United States. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5486446/
Then why is my wife, who's mother immigrated from the Netherlands in the '30's as a teenager, fudging it if she says she's 5'2"?? Seriously, my better half aside, I can testify, from having spent several months in Holland on different trips, that the data is probably accurate. I just never thought about it before. I'm not that tall myself, although I look tall next to my wife, and I remember looking up at a hell of a lot of Dutch guys. And they aren't skinny! My Dutch girlfriend was my height, back in '71, and she had an amazing figure, along with legs you wouldn't believe. She rode around with me on the back of her bike, when we were in her small town outside of Amsterdam, and didn't even get winded. This makes me think of something that has always fascinated me about Europe... the different "tribes" of white Europeans and the distinct differences between them. Here in the States, we don't think of that at all. We're all "mixed up". Most of us, anyway. Spend some time in different European countries, and you'll notice how distinct they are from each other. And when you travel, you'll find yourself noticing an Englishman in France, a Frenchman in Italy, an Italian in Germany, and so on, before they ever open their mouths. I think it's a trip! Of course, they have sub-groups within their countries that they easily recognize, and I suppose immigration is changing things a lot. Just another of the wonderful differences between us and the Europeans.
There was an article about this in the New Yorker from a few months back; most people in the Netherlands in the 30's were that short, as were most Europeans -- it was environmental, not genetic, improved living standards in postwar Europe that made them taller.
i knew it was going to catch up to them. this is the kind of stuff that happens when a whole nation has the munchies.
on a related note, my own personal scientific research, performed during a recent trip to amsterdam, concluded that most dutch women look very manly
it is deffinatly the wooden shoes Yeah i knew we dutch were special I'm 6"7. But i'm taller then most dutch, only when i played basketbal there were people taller then me. It is fun to walk in a country like israel were the people are amazed by your size, onze some people of a basketbalteam in israel asked if i wanted to play for theyr team mulletman the dutch girls are not manly, most of them are beautiful, ofcourse some men like to wear womans clothes, maybe you thought they looked like a man the strange thing is that holland does not have alot of clothes or shoes for tall people. I think the dutch are taler because of the environment influences. here is enough food and good health care. so i think that is the reason
Actually, if Harvard Medical School has its way in changing the definition of "overweight" and "obese", the United States will immediately have over 85% of its population be considered overweight. Under the new standards, a person 5'10 and 153 lbs. would be considered overweight.
That is insane. I'm 5'11" and about 155-160 and I've always been known as the skinniest guy around (at school, at work, around my friends etc). Although maybe it's just because of my scrawny arms and underdeveloped chest.
maybe. but the dutch cannot play basketbal, I started playing basketbal when i was 17 and when i was 19 i was one of the 2 best centers (ok i'm power forward) in the netherlands below 20. So we cannot be that good
Well, the U.S. is definitely fat. When I went to Shanghai, it's amazing that the fat people make up maybe 3% of people on the street. And when I say fat I meant just slightly chubby. I think it's the fact that most ppl in asia and europe use public transportation and walk to places they need to go where as the U.S. especially the south ppl drive everywhere. I guarantee you the people of New York are much thinner than ppl in Houston just because of their transportation habits.
there are a few reasons why somebody is heavy. 1 he has alot of fat 2 he has alot of muscles people who have alot of muscle weight alot but are not fat. but they can be overweight. i think in holland people do get heavier, because of more junk food, and because allot of people are to busy to work out or do sports.
