Chapter 3

Height, Weight, Shape and Obesity

3.1. Introduction
Twin studies show that adult height variation is about 859% due to genes
and 159% to environment. Giants. dwarfs and midgets are described in
greater detail in Chapter 18. Weight variation is about 639b due to genes
and 374% to environment, indluding eating and exercise. Water accounts
for about 60% of our weight.
Shape includes fat, skinny. apple-shaped. pear-shaped, flat as a pan-
cake, busty. legs up to her armpits, squat, beer-bellied and well-propor-
tioned. Photo 3.1 shows a woman in fine shape. Some occupations have
prescribed shapes, such as fashion models being tall and thin. Ballerinas
should have a small head, long neck, narrow hips, long arms, and legs
proportionally longer than the body.
With age. fat is deposited towards the centre of the body but fat lavers
under the skin decrease, causing wrinkling. Lean mass decreases in old age
as muscdes, liver and the brain lose cells. Bones become less dense, often
causing osteoporosis. Height decreases by about one centimetre (0.4 inch)
every ten years after 40. The los is greater after 70, with a typical loss of one
to three inches (2.5 to 6.5 cm). For example, a 73-year-old woman had been
175 cm but reduced to 165 cm. A man of 78 had been 178 cm but became
169 cm.
The National Sizing Survey used 3D body scanners to compare the
vital statistics of 11,000 British women in 1951l and 2004, aged 16 to 95, as
shown in Table 3.1.

41
 Photo 3.1. A woman in fine shape

labie 3.. Comparisons of average measurements of British woln

in 1951 and 2004.

Metric
Imperial
2004
1951 2004 1951

Height 5 ft 3 in 5 ft 4.5 in 160 cm

163 cm

Chest 37 in 98 cm
38.5 in 94 cm
Waist 27.5 in 86 cm
34in 70 cm
Hips 39in
103 cm

40.5 in 99 cm
Weight 9 st 10 lb (136 lb) 10 st 3 lb 61.7 kg
65 KE
(143 Ib)
 Height, Weight, Shape and Obesity 43

The change over 53 years was for women to be taller, heavier and
larger, with a dramatic enlargement of the waist, a 24% increase. In 2000,
its own measurements led to Marks & Spencer changing its clothes label-
ling, so ior example size 14 became 12, boosting women's self-esteem but
not making them slimmer. In the 1960s, size 10 was 31-24-33 inches (bust,
waist, hips) but now is 34-27-37.
A tall person is usually wider from side to side and from front to back,
compared with a small one, so weight increases proportionally more than
height, as taken into account in Body Mass Index (BMI) calculations. What
is overweight for a small-framed man might be ideal for a large-framed man.

Work out your Body Mass Index (BMI), your

weight in kilograms divided by the square of your
Things
to do
height in metres. If necessary, convert the units:
1 pound 0.454 kg
1 stone = 6.35 kg
1 inch 2.54 cm
Example: I weigh 12 stone, 76.2 kg. My height is 6
feet, 1.829 metres. Squaring that height gives
3.345 square metres, so my BMI is 22.8, within the
normal range.

The ranges of BMI values accepted as healthy are 20 to 24.9 for men
and 18.5 to 23.6 for women. Overweight is a BMI between 25 and 30; over
30 is obese. In 2014 in America, 27% were obese, 35% were overweight and
35% were of normal weight, with a few underweight.
A study published in The Lancet (Ng et al., 2014) showed that more
young British females were overweight than elsewhere in western Europe.
In Britain, 29% of females under the age of 20 were overweight or obese,
with only Greeks as bad among 22 countries. Among adults aged 20 and
above, 67% of men and 57% of women were obese or overweight, with
25% of both sexes obese.
The National Sizing Survey in 2005 revealed that an average bra size of
34B had increased to 36C in ten years in Britain and Australasia. Since
1951, women's busts and hips had grown by 1 inches (3.8 cm), while
waists had increased by a huge 6% inches (16.5 cm). Statistics from China
 Human Diversity: Its Nature, Extent. Causes and Eftects on People
44
in 2005 showed 18 million obese adults and 137 million overweight. u
of 983 million adults, obesity rates doubling since 1980. Chinese soldiers
have become taller and fatter and are outgrowing their equipment, aircraft
cockpits and tanks designed 30 years ago.
Obtaining the correct bra size is complicated by diversity between a
woman's breasts. Up to 25% of women have brcasts displaying an asym-
metry of at least one cup size. For 5% to l0o of women, their breasts are
very different, with the left one usually being larger. Some people have feet
of different sizes, requiring different-sized shoes.
3.2. Body fat and heat
The percentage of body fat is measured
electronically and relates to body
shape. Women tend to have more body fat than men, in their breasts and
on their
hips, for example. The American Council on Exercise gives these
values for body fat. For men, essential minimum, 2 to
5%; athletes, 6 to
13%; fit, 14 to 17%; average, 18 to 24%; obese, 25+%, so
my value of 17%
is satisfactory. For women, essential
minimum, 10 to 13%; athletes, 14 to
20%; fit, 21 to 24%; average, 25 to 31%; obese, 32+%.
Fat distribution affects
temperature control. Fat around internal
organs provides a reserve of nutrients but does not retain
heat from skel
etal muscle activity if heat retention is needed. Most fat is stored just below
the skin, in the best
position to act as an insulator.
In hot
regions, heat dissipation through the skin is vital. A few groups
in hot regions have evolved
where excess fat is
a
visually striking pattern of fat distribution,
stored in greatly
special fibrous tissue to
enlarged regions of the buttocks, with
support it. It looks like a second layer of buttocks
above the normal ones. The
condition, steatopygia (Greek stear, suet, Pyge»
buttock), occurs in well-fed Hottentot
and Onge and San women in South
Pygmy women of the Andaman Africa
not affected. Islands. Strangely, the men are
Locating so much fat in
lation that it would one region avoids the excessive insu
such hot climates. provide if more generally distributed over the bouy n
The fat
*
levels of models and actresses
to 26% for normal 10 to 15%,
are
women. The unrealistic image of the as
opposea too2
projected causes damage to female fornm
girls trying to emulate it.
Vulnerable adolesce
 Height, Weight, Shape and Obesity 45

and adults try for unachievable results, suffering eating disorders and low
self-esteem.

3.3. Height
There are clear differences in height between populations. Average male
adult heights were:

4 ft 8 (142 cm), Pygmies from the Congo;

4 ft 9 in (147 cm), Indian Veddas;
5 fi 0 in (152 cm), Bushmen of South Africa;
5 ft 2 in (157 cm), Lapps;
5 ft 4 in (162 cm), Japanese;
5ft 6 in (167 cm), English;
5 ft 8 in (172 cm), Indian Sikhs;
5 ft 10 in (177 cm), Berbers from North Africa;
6 ft 0 in (183 cm), Northwest Europeans, Tutsi in Africa.

One very short group, the Pygmies of the Congo, live only a few hundred
miles from one of the tallest groups, the Watusi.
A survey by the ONS showed that 15-year-old boys had an increase i

average height between 1830 and 2001 of 9

inches (23 cm), compared with
4% in (11.5 cm) for girls.
There is a diversity of heights in well-known people: Barbara Windsor,
5 ft 2 in; Sarah Jessica
4 ft 10 in (147 cm); Dolly Parton, 5 ft; Judi Dench,
and Bernie Ecclestone, all 5
Parker, The Queen, Madonna, Britney Spears
ft 4 in; Rod Stewart, 5 ft 5 in; Penelope Cruz, Joan Collins and Bob Dylan,
and Cameron Diaz, all 5 ft 9
all 5 ft 6 in; Sylvester Stallone, Prince Charles
Dave Bowie, all 5 ft 10 in; Uma
in; Mick Jagger, Johnny Depp and
and George W. Bush, all 6 ft; Tony
Thurman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Iman
Prince William, 6 ft 3 in; Jeremy
Blair, 6 ft 0% in; Boy George, 6 ft 2 in;
6 ft 5 in (196 cm). Princess
Irons and Clint Eastwood, 6 ft 4 in; John Cleese,
to correct spinal curvature,
Eugenie, when 12, underwent an operation
taller.
making her two inches (5 cm)
4 ft 9 in (144 cm). They occur in
Most Pygmies are shorter than
in the Malay
Equatorial Africa, the Andaman Islands, the Philippines, jungles
New Guinea. There are about 150,000
Peninsula and East Sumatra, and in
 46 Human Dversity Its Nature, Extent, Causes and Efects on Peoplo

Pvgmies in small scattered tribal groups in tropical rain forests of cent

tral
Atrica.
Pvgmies are not dwarts (Chapter 18), although they also have a re
tively long trunk but short limbs. Pygmies and dwarfs have overlappino
heights. Unlike dwarfism, usually caused by an autosomal dominant allel
the genetics of Pygmies is less simple. Pygmies produce normal amounts
ts
of human growth hormone but are much less responsive to it.
There is an Annual Little People of America Convention, typically
attended by 1,000 dwarfs and midgets, and 800 average-sized relatives and
friends. The hotels put steps by the front desk, stools by the cash machine
and pay-phone, and a rod in the litt for reaching the higher floor buttons.
One dwarf said. "My average-sized friends can't know what it is like to be
noticed every time you walk into a room. They don't know what it's like to
drive a car with extensions, or to have to climb on an ATM machine like it
was a jungle gym to get money out." Another male dwarf said, "It's good
to dance with someone and look into their eyes. Don't get me wrong, head
to boob is nice." About one in 10,000 births worldwide is of a dwarf.
There are also national tall persons' clubs and an annual International
Tall Persons' Convention. An attendee said, "As a tall person, in a social

situation,I find that people always want to talk about your height. But here,
we're all the same, so we can just forget about it." As well as acting as dating

clubs, they campaign for action, e.g., about leg room on planes. In Holland,
to
the Tall Person's Club succeeded in raising the statutory height of doors
7 ft 6 in (229 cm) and ceilings to 8 ft 2 in (249 cm) in new buildings

Personal Account. On being a sir feet eight inches tall (204 cm) male
runs
I am (204 cm) tall and reached this at 16. Being tall
6 feet 84 inches
in the family. Mother is 185 cm (6 ft 1 in), father is 195 cm (6 ft 5in). My
brother Patrick, 18, is even taller, 207 cm (6 ft 9% in). My brone
Sebastian, 13, is 5 ft 11 in (180 cm). When he is 14, he will start hormont
tall
treatment to reduce his growth. My eight-year-old sister is already as
as most 11-year-olds. She is under observation for possible growth-reu
ing hormone treatment later.
s 12
My parents anticipated that i would be very tall and when l w

took me to a specialist with the option of injecting me with hor

 Height, Weight, Shape and Obesity 47

halt my growth. I enjoyed the attention and so my growth was not checked
hyinections. A German cousin started the hormone treatment when he
tuS 14;now in his thirties, he is 198 cm (6 ft 6 in), with no lasting side-
etfects from the treatment. His brother, 21, did not receive treatment and
is 04 cm (o fi 84 in).
77hestandard height of British doors (6 ft 6 in, 198 cm) has not
hang:d for i00 years despite an increase in average height of about one
mch2.5 cm) per generation. How often do I make violent and painful
antact with the top of the door frame? Surprisingly infrequently. When I
approach a door I automatically withdraw my head, a reflex laid down by
reward and punishment.
Ifa bed is too short it causes problems if it has a foot board, meaning
that my feet cannot hang over the end, when I put the mattress on the
which fit me in normal British
floor. There is little hope offinding clothes
shops.
Seating on planes and trains usually causes no problems although I
maximum leg room. f the opportunity arises
always ask for a seat with
whether the seat beside me is taken, I
I take two seats. If someone enquires
"Yes, my legs. One form of transport is unrelentingly punishing
reply, by women below
tall the mnotor coach. The seats seem designed for
for people:
the height of 5feet (152 cm).
In the cinema or theatre I appreciate being much taller than everyone
behind. When
have to mumblead disapprovals from people
else, but ignore and received offers
I an unhindered view
a rock concert, enjoyed
I went to It has been proven that
wanting to sit on my shoulders.
ofmoneyfrom girls be promoted. I can see why: being
six feet eight

tall people are more likely to

and
crowd meansyou get noticed
and a head above the
standing
remembered.
an immediate talking point, but
When I first meetpeople, my size offers to talk about. tn pubs, wherr
else
most people manage tofind something fortheom-
c o m m e n t s are monr

inhibitions have been diminished

by alkohol, a bit
God, you're tall" Jollowend bv
something ike: "My that
comnents
ing. Usualy I'll get the
By now l've hearnd most of
about my a n a o m y
of good-natured banter. intrusive questions
to make (inclhuding vemark o fire
some
people are apt women) and usually havr
drunken middle-aged
from
 Human Diversily: lIs Nature, Extenl, Causes and Efects on People
48

back. One disadvantage about standing al sOcal functions is that conversa.

rsa-
tion takes place at a lower alitude; I have to stoop to get involved.
A few men can be aggressive because tney wunt to prove totheir friends
that they could "have me" in a fight. That is true as I am a complete paci
fist, who, unless severely provoked, will try everything to avoid a physical
confrontation. Being very tall means that I am blessed with not a massive
amount of co-ordination, which cancels out my height advantage.
I am asked, "Do you ever wish you were smaller? The answer, even
though there are situations in which I do want to be smaller, is overall no.
Being this tall is inextricably part of me, and my whole psyche has been
built up around it. The situations where I am uncomfortable or embar-
rassed are compensated for by those in which I bask in standing head and
shoulders above the rest.

Casper von Wrede wrote this when an undergraduate, including

information from his mother, Kristina.

For a female, being too tall has disadvantages. A 13-year-old died from
drug overdose after being bullied because 6 ft (183 cm)
a
she was tall
Morgan Musson had been mocked and threatened by a gang of seven g s
at her school in
Nottingham. Susan Herbert, who is 6 ft 3 in (190.
tall, wrote that she
sympathised with Morgan after her own experiences.
A man she holidayed with was seven inches was

(18 cm) shorter than sne on'"

*.
and in public referred to himself as "St
George with his captured drago tall
She was called "the leaning tower of Pisa", "lanky "looby", etc. Being s0
was a misery during growing up and later.
Treatment with oestrogen (a female sex hormone) to reduce tne adult
height of tall girls has been available since the 1940s when it was for

girls suffering from acromegaly, where the us es

e x c e s

growth hormone.
pituitary gland ces
proauiht
adult height
Oestrogen therapy in adolescence reduces aau"
by two to ten centimetres (0.8 to 3.9
comfort and marriage
inches). It increases self-estec hs
prospects.
e a d a c h

Side effects included nausea.

and reduced later fertility.
There have been Judge
many studies on the effects of
and Cable (2004) mnade large-scale height on suc USA
studies in Britain and tne
 and Otesity
Height, Weight, Shape
each extra inch (2.54 cm) of height added about
found that on average,
Being tall improves self- confidence and therefore
493 year in
a salary.
associated with leadership, even though
performance; it is psychologically
many leaders in history have been short
In the rain forests of Brazil, anthropologists found that taller men
attracted many more women than did shorter men. In lonely heart col
umns' many women specify that the man should be tall; men usually only
give their height if tall and often exaggerate.
American actor who died aged 93 in 2014, was
Mickey Rooney, the
5 ft 2 in (157 cm) yet extremely sucessful in seducing women. The
only
first of his eight wives, film star Ava Gardner, said that "He went through
the ladies like a hot knife through fudge."
It seems reasonable to have height criteria for certain jobs. For the Fire
Brigade theminimum height was 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) but the Home Office
removed that limit in 1997. Katie Reid sued the Fire Brigade after being
taken off active duty, claiming sex discrimination. She was only 5 ft 1 in
(155 cm) and could not reach some equipment, pull out hoses or lift lad-
ders. She had difficulty cleaning fire engines, using cutting equipment on
large vehicles and could not reach the emergency in a lift. This was
keys
someone in the wrong job, not sex discrimination.
Vitamin deficiencies reduce height. The average Vietnamese man in
his early twenties is only 5 ft 4 in (162.6 cm). The director of the National
Institute of Nutrition in Hanoi hopes to increase that by two inches (5 cm)
by giving all babies large doses of vitamin A. A Hanoi café worker com-
mented, "AlI Vietnamese want to be tall because tall people are more pretty
and handsome"
3.4. Weight and health
A Columbia University study in America published in 2013 showed that
18% of deaths among people aged 40 to 85 were linked to excessive weight,
with women more affected than men. In America, the National Institute of
Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has linked medical conditions
such as high blood pressure, strokes, heart disease and diabetes to obesity.
Other health risks include asthma, cancer of the colon, rectum and prostate
for men, and cancer of the gallbladder, breast, womb, cervix and ovaries for
women. Being underweight can also have adverse effects. Some medics
 Cdust
Human Diversity Its Nature, Extent.
50

better predictor than BMI for increased

think that waist circumference is a

cardiovascular risk.
for crematoria, hospitals, firemen
itra heavy people cause problems
Deuel in Nebraska weighed 77
hotels, airlines and others. At 42. Patrick
stone (1,078 lb. 489 kg). He had
heart failure, thyroid problems, pulmno-
nary hypertension and arthritis.
When he became critically ill, no local
miles to South Dakota, where
hospital could take him so he was driven 200
they made a specially reintorced bed. Being put on a diet of 1,200 kilocalo

ries a day, he lost 23 stone (322 Ib, 146 kg) in eight weeks.
The second heaviest man recorded, Khalid Moshin Shaeri of Saudi
Arabia, weighed 96 stone (1,344 Ib, 610 kg) and needed hospital treatment
in 2013. Khalid had been bed-bound for two and a half years and was
unable to move. Part of his house was demolished to admit a fork-lift
truck and he was transported by military plane.
Cosmetic surgery for weight reduction is popular in many countries,
especially America. About one nmillion people a year worldwide have lipo-
suction, with excess fat sucked from under the skin, generaly removing up
to 24 pints (1% litres) offat each time. Surgical removal of fat by knife is
also done. Americans spend more than $2 billion (£1.4 billion) a year on
trying to improve their body shapes.
One original idea for promoting weight loss is to undress for dinner.
Taking your clothes off before you eat makes you more conscious of your
size, and self-conscious about every fattening mouthful. Eating naked in
front of a full-length mirror helps to curb cravings for large portions.
Many people desire to lose weight. The obvious ways are to eat less, or
less calorific foods, and to exercise more. To lose one pound (0.45 kg) of
fat, one could walk briskly for 37 miles (60 km). Table 3.2 shows the calo-
ries lost from various forms of exercise.
Some women opera singers were criticised for being overweight, even
losing roles because of that. In 2004, American soprano Deborah Voigt Was
removed from a role at the Royal Opera House because she could not fnt
into a costume. Deborah had unsuccessfully tried various diets, then in
2004 had successful gastric-bypass surgery. She lost over 7 stone (100 1D»
45 kg). going from dress size 30 to 14.
Weight loss can be dramatic, takes only minutes and be permanen
Sounds ideal? It means having a tumour removed! Hungarian doctot
 Height, Weight, Shape and Obesity 51

Table 3.2. Kilocalories used in exercises for half an hour, rough averages for people of
different weights.*

Weight, stones and 9 st 4 Ib/ 11 st 6 lb/ 14 st 4 lb/

pounds/pounds/kilograms 130 1b/59 kg 160 1b/73 kg 200 1b/91 kg

Cycling, vigorous, stationary 328 403 504

Football 250 307 384

Gardening 140 173 216

Golf, carrying clubs 172 211 264
187 230 280
Hiking
Housework 109 134 168

Ice skatingg 218 269 336

Running, 5 mph, 8 kmph 250 307 384
Running, 10 mph, 16 kmph 515 634 792

Swimming 187 230 288

Tennis 218 269 336

Walking, 3.5 mph, 5.6 kmph 192

1ehristuniNtrsity
Adapted from The Daily Telegraph, 3/1/2003. Main Library
Bengaluru-29
39T06
removed a benign tumour weighing 85 Ib (6 st 1 lb, 38.6 kg) from a man's
stomach after his weight had jumped from 12% to 19 stone (175 to 266 lb,
79 to 121 kg). A Californian woman in 1979 had a benign ovarian tumour
which had been growing for 15 years. She weighed 27 stones 2 pounds

(380 Ib, 172.4 kg) before the four-and-a-half hour operation, leaving her
tumour weighed 14
weighing only 12 stones 2 pounds (170 1b, 77 kg). The
st 4 lb (200 Ib, 90.7 kg) and contained 20 US gallons (76 litres) of liquid!
There are two main hormones controlling appetite. Leptin is made by
fat cells, and the fuller your fat cells are, the more appetite-suppressing lep-
tin gets into the blood. Strangely, girls have three times as much leptin as
stomach when it is empty,
boys. Ghrelin is released into the blood from the
increasing appetite. These two hormones
have complicated interactions.
If you lose one to two kg (two to four pounds) a week, you largely lose
fat, but faster weight loss involves losing more lean tissue. Unfortunately,
continued low-calorie diets give lethargy and a reduced metabolic rate,
and your body fat
reducing the diet's effectiveness. If your diet succeeds
reduces, you produce lower levels of leptin, which impels you to eat
more.

bands and stomach sta-

Surgical treatments for obesity, such as gastric
reduction.
pling, have the highest rate of success for long-term weight
 Extent, Causes and Efects on People
Human Diversity: Its Nature,
52

was discovered in Camhria

Extreme diversity for leptin production ridgs
of oi
had insatiable appetites.
England. Two children under the age
nine, already weighed94
ten

94 kg (207
(207
giving
IhIb, 14
enormous obesity. One child, aged
st 11 Ib). They had no detectable leptin in their blood and carried a uta-
injections of recombinant lenti.
leptin
tion knocking out their leptin gene. Daily
and they lost their excess weight
stopped their compulsive overeating
so is not generally available.
Leptin is extremely expensive,
Girls overtake boys in average weight trom ages 9 to 13, then bove
catch up and overtake girls. A University of London study of 3,000 babies
born in 1946 and followed for more than 40 years found that babies who
were bigger at birth tended to do better at school and remained brainier in
young adult life.
People's metabolic rates differ widely, affecting their weight. Harry
Bullard was 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), weighed nearly 12 stone (168 lb, 75 kg) and
had less than 10% body fat. He attributed being underweight for his
height, in spite of eating large amounts, to having a very high metabolic
rate.
Exercise is important for weight control and health. Dr Tuomilehtoof
Helsinki University said that four hours' exercise a week achieves an 80%
reduction in the risk of type 2 diabetes. Eating a 50 kilocalorie biscuit a day
can cause a weight gain of 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) a year; it takes a daily 20-minute
walk to use up those calories. The British Heart Foundation recommends
30 minutes of moderate exercise, five days a week, for cardiovascular
health.

3.5. Dissatisfaction with body image

In the Western World most females are dissatisfied with their body. Di
magazine found that 90% of teenage girls in Britain were with

their body shape. The desire to be unhappy life

slender and beautiful dominated tne
of 14-year-olds.
One fifth of the fifths
girls
thought they needed to diet, with 64% of overweight
was but threc ready
been on a diet. under-13 girls having a tisor-
Twenty per cent were already
ders such as anorexia or bulimia (Chapter 12).suffering from
A study in 2001eating
in America
foundthat 43% of men were dissatisfied with imes as

many as 25 their bodies, three

years ago.
 Height, Weight, Shape and Obesity 53

At the other extreme, in Calabar, Southern Nigeria, would-be-brides

are sent to a fattening establishment. Arit Asuquolbok was 35 and unmar-

ried, so her family sent her tor three months to a fattening house. As jour-
nalist Christine Lamb wrote, "Her thighs wobble like blancmange as she
walks, her bottom is as round and squashy as two over-ripe pumpkins, and
at least seven chins quiver when she swallows." From five in the morning
she starts eating, spending the day reclining and stuffing herself. Arit said,
I must eat so I'll be fat and people don't laugh at my figure. It shows that
my family has money and can afford to feed me properly
and I will makea
are not fattened are cursed.
good bride."A local woman said,"Women who
If you don't do it, the gods will be angry and terrible things will happen."
Sinisterly, the Nigerian fattening rooms are also used for female genital
mutilation. A 15-year-old schoolgirl, Glory Ita Asuquo, said, "They will cut
off part of my genitalia with a razor blade. It is painful but it's our tradi-
tion. It will be done in a hygienic way and they will put a mixture of gin
and special herbs on the wound to stop the bleeding" (Information from
The Sunday Telegraph, 25/3/2002.)

3.6. Shape, obesity and diet

In Europe, the OECD Fact Book gave figures for adult obesity (BMI
greater than 30) in EU countries: 8% in Switzerland and Norway, 8.5% in
Italy and Austria, 9% in France, Denmark and Sweden, 13% in Portugal,

Germany, Ireland and Spain, 22% in Greece and the Slovak Republic, with
the UK worst at 23%.
In 1999 Vasso Xyloyiannis studied the heights, weights and BMI of 358
Imperial College students of varying national origin, as shown in Table
3.3.
Male height exceeded female height by 5.1l inches (13 cm) on average,
a difference of 7.8% of the average female height. Male weight exceeded
female weight by 2 stone 0.6 lb (13 kg, 28.6 lb) on average, a difference of
22% of the average female weight. The fact that the sex difference is much
greater in weight than in height is expected, as taller people are usually
broader and deeper. Weights varied more than tour times as much as

heights. In females, the maximum height was only 28% greater than the
minimum height, while the maximum weight was 120% greater than the
minimum. In males, the maximum height was 28% greater than the mini-

mum, while the maximum weight was 115% greater than the minimum.
 reopie

Table 3.3. Diversity in heights, weights and BMis of university students.

Females Males

Height
Average 5 ft 5.4 in (166 cm) 5 ft 10.5 in (179 cm)
Minimum 4 ft 9.1 in (145 cm) 5 ft 3.0 in (160 cm)
Maximum 6 ft 1.2 in (186 cm) 6 ft 8.3 in (204 cm)

Weight
Average 9 st 6.3 Ib 60 kg; 132.3 Ib 11 st 6.9 lb 73 kg; 160.9 lb
Minimum 6 st 6.4 Ib 41 kg; 90.4 Ib 7 st 5.6 lb 47 kg; 103.6 lb
Maximum 14 st 2.4 Ib 90 kg; 198.4 Ib 15 st 12.7 Ib 101 kg; 222.7 Ib
BMI

Average 21.7 22.8

Minimum 14.5 15.9
Maximum 32.0 37.1
Numbers and percentages of normal, overweight and obese students
Normal 128 (84.8%) 138 (76.2%)
Overweight 18 (11.9%) 42 (23.206)
Obese 5 (3.3%) 1 (0.6%)

The BMI allows for taller people being generally heavier, so there is
less difference in average BMI between the sexes (5.1% of the female value)
than for height or weight. Vegetarians had a greater tendency to be obese
(6.9%) than people on normal diets (1.7%). This agrees with findings or
Martins et al. (1999) that groups in Canada and Britain who eat little or
no meat are those most likely to be overweight.
There is much diversity in the proportions of the legs to the trunk an
head. This is measured by the ratio of the height when sitting (which om
the leg length) to the height when standing. It is the cormic index, or t
sitting/standing height ratio. In most populations, it is about 50%, w
the legs about half the total height. My sitting height is 35 inches and my
of
standing height is 72 inches, giving a sitting/standing height ratio
(35/72) x 100 = 48.6%.
are

In many Chinese, Japanese and Native American groups, the leg>

alian

relatively short, giving sitting/standing ratios as high as 54%. In Austrai

 Group Height, metres Weiyht, k BMI

Tutkana (Kenya 77 95.0 17.6

SA, Furopean 76 22.3
USA, Afruan 76 72.2 23.3
Batuts Afa 176 57.0 8.4
Austr ali L73 60.0 20.0
alnod 172 81.2 27.5
nland L71 70.0 23.9
Berbers (N. Africa) 1.70 59.5 20.6
North China L.68 61.0 21.6
England 1.66 64.5 23.3
Hong Kong T.66 52.2 18.9
India 1.63 48.2 18.
Japan 1.61 53.0 20.5
Inuit/Eskimo 1.61 62.9 24.2
Vietnam I.58 49.1 19.8
Bushmen (S. Africa) 1.56 40.4 16.6

Pygmies 1.42 39.9 19.7

Aboriginals and tall Nilotic Africans of East Africa, the legs are relatively
long, giving ratios of well under 50%.
The diversity in heights, weights and BMI between different groups is
shown in Table 3.4, using data from various sources.
Average heights ranged from 4 ft 8 in (1.42 m) for Pygmies to 5 ft 9%
in (1.77 m) for Turkana. Average weights ranged from 6 st 4 lb (39.9 kg,
88 Ib) for Pygmies to 12 st 11 lb (81.2 kg, 179 1b) for Samoans, with the
largest value 104% greater than the smallest. The average BMI varied from
16.6 for Bushmen to a massive 27.5 for Samoans, well into the overweight
category.
The Forbes organisation and the WHO in 2007 found that 809% of the
most overweight populations were on South Pacific islands. The Pacific
Islanders' diet used to consist of fish, coconuts, tropical fruits, vegetables
and pigs. They had increasingly turned to eating mutton flaps (fatty, from
New Zealand), Turkey tails (fatty skins from America), corned beef, ham-
burgers, fizzy drinks and crisps.
 According to the UN Food and Agriculture rganisation, about 815
million people were chronically undernournshed in 1999, with at least 1R
million hronically undernourished children under 10 years of age in the
developing world. Factors in malnutition intlude high birth rates
mproved survival rates and longevity, and poor agricultural and environ
mental practices. With medicine causing higher survival rates, it becomes
even more important for groups to control birth rates. It has been esti-
mated that the number of overweight people in the world exceeded the
number of underweight people in the year 2000. Is that progress?
The effects of changes of nutrition can be seen in a classic study by
Greulich which showed that American-born Japanese children were strik-
ingly taller and heavier than a similar-aged group of Japanese children
brought up in Japan. When they changed from their traditional 'natural'
diets to ones high in refined carbohydrates and fats, many groups of
Australian Aborigines, Pacific Islanders and Native Americans tended to
obesity.
Of the selective forces on body shape, temperature and humidity are
important. In colder climates, the body needs to prevent excess heat-loss
and hypothermia, while in hotter climates, it needs to get rid of excess heat
from muscular exertion. Fat is a good insulator, reducing heat loss and also
reducing heat gain from hot environments. Sweating is a major method of
heat loss but is retarded in humid environments. People from the humid
Tropics tend to be slim, giving better heat dispersal. Tall, thin bodies have
a larger surface area in relation to volume than do short, round bodies.
Although there are exceptions, people in colder climates tend to be
heavier for their height than those from hotter climates, with higher BMIs
for Inuit/Eskimos, and those from Ieland, Finland and England, than for
Batutsi, Indians, Bushmen, Pygmies, and those from Hong Kong (Table 3.4).
Samoans, Maoris and Hawaiians tend to be large yet live in warm regions
This has been explained by their history of long sea voyages between
islands over perhaps 4,000 years. In open boats, heat is lost to winds ana
spray, so selection for being large, fat and heavy would give better heat
insulation, better food reserves and perhaps better fighting ability to con
quer the islands reached.
A range of adult female body shapes, from slim to plump, and short to
tall, is shown in Photo 3.2. The mothers from Twickenham, near London.
 Photo 3.2. Different female body shapes.

shown here at the rugby stadium, posed naked for a calendar for a local
cancer charity.
People have a fascination with extremes, as exemplified by freak shows
which continued in Britain until the 1960s. Two midgets said that they spent
their lives being stared at so they might as well get paid for it. The oddities
exhibited included midgets, Siamese twins, two-headed giants, bearded
ladies, the Lion-faced Boy, the World's Fattest Couple and the Elephant Man.
Obesity is a major health concern, causing joint and mobility problems
and increasing the risk of heart disease and strokes, doubling the risk of
most cancers and increasing cancer of the womb five-fold. Obese people
average two thirds the salary of the non-obese, have more depression and
more divorce. While slim individuals tend to blame the obese for lack of self
discipline, for lack of moral (and dietary?) fibre, many obese people keep
eating because their mechanisms for registering that they are full are faulty.
There are drugs such as Xenical and Reductil which are prescribed for
obese patients who have managed to lose some weight. Both have unpleas-
ant side-effects. There are bulking agents which, taken with water, swell in
the stomach to reduce feelings of emptiness. Public pressure led to some
food firms making their products less unhealthy, e-g., by reducing the levels
of hydrogenated fats, salt and sugar, and by reducing portion sizes. Reducing
 Causes and Effects on People
Nature, Extent,
Human Diversity: Its
58
the carbohydrates
to maintain as ooften
tlavour has
fats but increasing
increased caloritic values.
are used on seriously obese
Stomach staplings and gastric bypasses ese
intake. Stapling makes the stomach smaller, so tha
people to reduce calorie
Gastric bypass surgery makes the stom.
people feel full earlier and eat less.
of the small intestine, reducin
ach smaller and causes food to bypass part
the amount of food absorbed.
For ladies of America's National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance,
fat is a virtue and beautiful. Members have an annual convention with
like-minded and like-bodied women. One attender, weighing 23 stone
322 lb, 146 kg), said that she had no problem finding men. Her problem
was getting rid of them.
According to the Health Development Agency, 8% of six-year-olds
and 18% of 15-year-olds are now obese. It estimated that obesity kills
about 34,000 a year in Britain and costs the National Health Service about
E2.6 billion a year.
Very fat children are often bullied, ostracised, socially isolated, ridi-
culed and excluded from playground or
organised games, which may
encourage them to indulge in further 'comfort eating. Only 5% of children
now walk or
cycle to school, compared with 80% 20 years ago. Being
driven everywhere, watching TV, playing computer games, usin8 c
Internet and chatting on mobile
phones do not consume many calories.
References
Judge, T. A., Cable, D. M. The effect of physical height on workplace success and ino me:
preliminary test of a theoretical model. J
Martins, Y., Pliner, P. and Appl Psychol (2004) 89: 428-441.
O'Connor,
tarian eating style mask
R. Restrained eating among vegetarians: aOc ge
Ng, M., Fleming. T., Robinson, M., et about weight? Appetite (1999) 32: 145-1*
concerns
al. Global,
weight and obesity in children regional, and national prevaiee
r e v a l e n c e o f over-
and adults
the Global
Burden during 1980-2013: a systematic an
of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet
(2014) 384:
766-/