Tall? Short? What do you think .... regarding humans

[Karen]

I ran across story online about ""celebrities who are surprisingly short," and while it had the expected Michael J. Fox at 5' 4 1/2" and Snooki at 4' 8" - both of which I would consider "short," it also included several male celebrities that are 5' 8" and labelled them as "short." I looked it up, and the Average Height for American Men is 5' 9 1/2" (Women 5' 4 1/2"), would consider a man of 5'8" "short"?

I am 5' 6" - so slightly above average height, thanks to genes from Dad's side of the gene pool!

[chocolatepuppy]

I wouldn't consider a man short at 5'8". Maybe at 5'6" or less. I'm 5'4". Just your average girl!

[pomtzu]

My ex is just under 5'8", and my firstborn is just under 5'6" - and I consider them both short. My other son is around 5'9", and I always considered him as being of average height. I'm 5' - used to be 5'2" and yes - I'm SHORT and shrinking (or petite - depending on your choice of descriptive words).

[Grace]

I guess I would consider a man short at 5'6'.

I'm 5'2" - down from 5'4" at my prime. My husband is about 5'9".

My son is 6'2" and his sons are 6'5" and 6'3".

I've read that basketball coaches, when recruiting, look at the mom's height before looking at the dad.

[Freedom]

I always think men 5' 6" or more are tall. I guess this is because my Dad was 5' 6" when he was younger. And so as a child, I always looked up to him.

[Randi]

I'm 5.5, but I would like to be a little taller. I see very few 20 year old girls who are under 5.7 these days and I think that's the minimum height they want for models. John was 6.1 and I thought he was quite tall, but that's not tall these days!

The following is a little sidetrack. I remember when John and I visited a hotel outside of Sevilla, Spain... the beds were very old wooden ones and much too short for John - but the place was lovely, with orange trees blossoming when we were there - oh, what a smell! There are nine very different rooms. To communicate with the two elderly sisters who run it, you have to speak Spanish.

In this first link, you can see the room we had one of the times we visited. (picture 11)
http://www.vinogusto.com/en/place-medias/29153/5854
http://www.sawdays.co.uk/special-pla...la/el-triguero

Beds in Denmark has always been made about 6.6, but now it's common that they are 6.8. For every generation, people get taller and taller. I wonder if people will ever stop growing. I bet all of your ancestors were below 5.5

[kaycountrygal]

Is that 5'8" with or without his shoes? I think I've read that some actors wear "lifts" in their shoes to appear taller. If the man is barefooted and a real 5'8", then, No, I do not think of him as short. I'm short myself, a tad under 5', used to be 5'2".

[Cataholic]

I've read that basketball coaches, when recruiting, look at the mom's height before looking at the dad.

That is fascinating. I have heard that the mother's paternal side 'dictates'- LOL. I am 5'3", and Jonah is already 4'11" (at 9). The doctor says if he continues to do what he has always done, growth wise, he will top 6'2". STILL short for professional BB, right? LOL.

[Randi]

I searched and found this. Sorry it is in centimeters, but you get the idea.

Results from health interview surveys (SUSY) demonstrates that the Danes have grown higher. In 1987, the average height for a Danish man aged 16 or over 177.3 cm and in 2000 it was 179.1 cm.

Similarly, women's average height increased from 165.3 cm in 1987 to 166.4 cm in 2000. The figure shows that the average height for an adult Dane has increased in all age groups except among women aged 67 years or over who have the same height.

Average height...

	Men	Women	I alt
	- - - - - - - - height in cm - - - - - - - -
16-19 år	181,0	168,5	174,8
20-24 år	181,9	169,0	175,5
25-29 år	181,8	169,1	175,4
30-34 år	182,2	168,3	175,0
35-39 år	181,5	167,8	174,5
40-44 år	180,9	166,9	173,8
45-49 år	179,3	166,4	172,9
50-54 år	178,5	166,1	172,2
55-59 år	177,4	165,3	171,6
60-64 år	176,1	165,1	170,7
65-69 år	175,9	164,0	169,8
70-74 år	175,5	163,0	169,1
75-79 år	174,1	162,7	168,0
80 years or more	173,2	161,6	166,1
I alt	179,2	166,4	172,7

I would like to see the height of people two centuries ago.

[Karen]

That is fascinating. I have heard that the mother's paternal side 'dictates'- LOL. I am 5'3", and Jonah is already 4'11" (at 9). The doctor says if he continues to do what he has always done, growth wise, he will top 6'2". STILL short for professional BB, right? LOL.

It is funny how genetics work - but it cannot be true that the mother's paternal side dictates the height of the grandchildren - how would that explain the 4-inch height difference between my brothers? It is clear looking at our family tree that Lady's Human and I get more of our genes from our paternal grandfather than maternal, and our older siblings the other side!

I have a friend, let's call her Maggie. She is just about 5'1" if that. When she was a young woman, she blatantly refused to date any guys under 5'10" - she didn't want her children to end up as short as she was. Her eventual husband was 6" or so, and sure enough both her boys tower over her (5' 8" and 5' 10") and while she said, "You know, when you have to tilt your head back to look your child in the face, 'Clean your room or else!' doesn't come off nearly as intimidating!," she is glad her sons have the height they do!

[Grace]

That is fascinating. I have heard that the mother's paternal side 'dictates'- LOL. I am 5'3", and Jonah is already 4'11" (at 9). The doctor says if he continues to do what he has always done, growth wise, he will top 6'2". STILL short for professional BB, right? LOL.

Not necessarily - many in the guard position are shorter - some even under 6'.