BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Bruneians are the fourth tallest men and fifth tallest women among Southeast Asian nations, a new study has shown.
According to a local daily report Friday, a study titled 'A century of trends in adult human height,' published in the online scientific journal eLife, tracked down the growth trends of adult men and women in 200 countries and territories over 100 years since 1914. The study was produced by the NCD Risk Factor Collaboration, a group made up of about 800 scientists, in association with the World Health Organization.
The study found that Bruneian men, who were the 189th tallest in the world a century ago, grew 9 centimeters(cm) in average height to 165cm to place as the 177th tallest. Bruneian women, however, dropped three places from a century ago to place 180th in the world despite an 8cm growth spurt in average height to 154cm over the same period.
The authors of the study said that being taller is associated with enhanced longevity, and higher education and earnings. "Different countries grow to different heights partly due to genetics, but most differences in height between countries have other causes such as malnourishment and serious diseases, resulting in generally shorter adult height," they said.
The international study reveals that Dutch men and Latvian women tower over all other nationalities. The average Dutchman now stands at 183cm tall, while the average Latvian woman reaches 170cm.
Singaporeans are the tallest among Southeast Asian people, with their men the 84th tallest in the world with an average height of 173cm while their women placed 82nd at 160cm.
