Yet one more reason for increasing BMI in Americans

[eridani]

Lagging height. Changes in both the numerator and the denominator change the final value.

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/56303/

According to a new study, white and black Americans have been shrinking dramatically relative to their European counterparts since the end of World War II.
Researchers say a population's average height is a "mirror" reflecting the socioeconomic health of a society and speculate that Americans' worship of "market-based" social policies may explain why we're now looking up to the Germans and Swedes.

It's a dramatic reversal. We had always been giants, with the tallest men in the world, going back as far as the data exists (at least to the mid-19th century). During the First World War, American GIs still towered over the Europeans they liberated. But for three decades beginning at the end of World War II, Americans' average height stagnated while Europeans continued the growth-spurt that one would expect to see during a period of relative peace and rising incomes.

Now, with an average height of 5'10", American men are now significantly shorter than men from countries like Denmark (6-footers) or the Netherlands (6' 1"). In fact, Americans -- men and women -- are now shorter, on average, than the citizens of every single country in Western and Northern Europe.

[lynnertic]

1. what is BMI?

not clear in the article you link to either, sorry.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. Body Mass Index

More or less it's a measurement of a "healthy" weight for your body frame (height and proportions of waist and and hips)

[lynnertic]

12. an increased BMI is related to decrease in height?

[hyphenate]

14. Reverse that

Decreased height leads to a higher BMI. BMI takes your height into account when factored in with weight. The shorter a person, the higher BMI if the weight is the same. Thus a 5'8" man with a weight of 160 lbs, would have a higher BMI than a 6' man at 160 lbs.

[Clear Blue Sky]

3. Average height reflects health. Our overall health (diet, lifestyle, etc) is declining.

[TreasonousBastard]

4. Much of which could be ascribed to...

the "average" citizen in Europe being part of a fairly homogenous gene pool and receiving better childhood nutrition than in the past. As opposed to the US, with its more varied population and several large and growing segments of it perpetually in poverty.

So, the question being not the US losing in the physical stature numbers, but the US losing in equal treatment
of its citizens.

[Johonny]

5. sounds hard to believe

The decline in height could also be explained by a large increase in people of smaller stature into the US intermixing into the American population compared to Europe. While malnutrition can cause people to fail to reach their maximum height, it's not the only controller in the equation. In this case American poor also tend to have more overweight issues. Which means they tend not to lack calories but tend to lack good balanced diets. So while their conclusions are possible they require more work to convince me totally of their conclusion.

[eridani]

7. For that reason they only looked at white and black Americans n/t

[Johonny]

8. But that assumes that is a real term

Unfortunately the populations intermix. Genetically there is no marker for black or white American. You basically go by what people tell you they are, but as we know a half black/ half white American is very often referred to as a black American. It's possible that the studies assumption that the White population of the US and the White population of Germany are mixing at different rates. Even for within mixing. Thus after WWII it was very common for Whites to be first or second generation Italian or German, today that is no longer true. Most Whites in America or 3rd or greater generation American and very likely to be mixed. I believe the mixing of different immigrant populations being greater in the US than those European countries could easily explain the results.

[eridani]

11. Not hard to avoid recent immigrants, actually n/t

[Johonny]

15. but they are

intermixing in the populations at different rates. You fail to understand this concept so I shall move on.

[mvccd1000]

6. I can believe it.

I work around a bunch of eastern Europeans, and there are a LOT of them are close to my height. (6'5")

[El Pinko]

13. That's true, and a lot of Mexicans/Central Americans are Meztizo (part native)...

...and native Americans are extremely prone to obesity on a western-style diet.

Unfortunately, their ancestors' hundreds of years of survival on very little food made their bodies very efficient at storing fat in times of plenty...

[Ilsa]

9. My guess: Our ethinic mix is changing. My relatives with northern european

ancestors are taller. Their progeny are shorter when they bred with typically shorter races.

Or perhaps this is also a result of the US being a melting pot of many races and cultures, some of which are shorter on average.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

10. Ummm

Are Americans getting shorter?

Or are Europeans just growing faster? Judging by the title we are shrinking but this "white and black Americans have been shrinking dramatically relative to their European counterparts" indicates were just not growing as fast..

Well there are two parts to height diet and genetics. Maybe, just maybe, Americans are genetically sorter and pre ww2 ate a better diet...