Average Human Height

The average human height in the United States is 5 feet 9.9 inches, for males, and 5 feet 4.3 inches, for females. That is well within the range of the world average of 5 feet to 6 feet. However, the trend is not the same all over the world. In Peru, the average height for males is at par with the average height for females in the United States. Such variations are quite common throughout the world. The average human height is determined by a range of factors, including genetics, nutrition, sleep patterns etc.

Average Human Height History
In 1989, John Komlos, an American economic historian, coined the term anthropometric history for the study of history of human height. The average human height at a given point of time is an apt indicator of the conditions prevailing at that time. A study undertaken by the Ohio State University revealed that the average height for European males of the 17th century was a few inches less than what it is today. Researchers believe that this was the result of the extremely cold weather conditions prevailing in the continent during this period. Such deviations in human height have been observed in various parts of the world throughout human history.

Factors Determining the Average Height in Humans
There are quite a few factors which play a crucial role in determining the average human height. Most prominent among these are human genetics, environment and gender. The human genome, which dictates the height of an individual, is passed on to a person by the parents and hence, there are significant chances that the child of a person with short stature will be short in height. Other than this hereditary factor, environment also plays a vital role in determining how tall an individual can be. The example of European males from the 17th century mentioned above, is the best illustration of the role of environment in determining human height. Other than these two factors, the gender of the person also plays an important role, as males are observed to be taller than females in almost any given region.

Average Human Height
With the height of 8 ft 11.1 inches or 2.72 meters, Robert Wadlow from Illinois, United States, was the tallest man to ever live on the planet, while on the other hand, Khagendra Thapa Magar from Nepal, with a height of just 22 inches, is the shortest man on Earth. On an average, a normal adult attains the height of anything between 5 ft to 6 ft. The average height of a man in Netherlands is 5 ft 11 inches, while the same in Indonesia is 5 ft 2 inches. Similarly, the average height of a woman in Netherlands is 5 ft 7 inches, whereas in Indonesia it is 4 ft 10 inches. The average human height by age also varies according to the region. Similarly, females reach their stipulated average height at a younger age compared to males. Measuring the average human height in meters can be tricky at times, considering that the spine shrinks at a particular time of the day, and the person tends to lose a few centimeters due to this.

Although, it is a tricky task to calculate the average human height, you can get a rough idea of the same by calculating the average human height for males and females of different countries. There do exist some abnormalities in height, one of the best examples of this is dwarfism. However, these are quite rare, and hence, don't really affect the statistics of average human height the world over.