The French Embassy newsletter reports that the French men have gained 2 inches in height on the average in the past 35 years and women 0.8"- that's the good part - the bad is that their girth is also growing, with the average weight for guys bulging from 72 kg to 77.4 kg (170.6 lbs) - 5.2 kg or well over 10 pounds - women's average rose from 60.6 kg to 62.4 kg (137.5 lb)
The fashion industry commissioned the study to help designers create styles more comfy and flattering for the average person.
Grow factors included: the effects of immigration; better access to sports (??) and eating richer foods.
Let's bring on the low-fat chocolate eclairs and non-far creme broulee!

coco 1,68m 56kg no sport except cleaning!

Playing sports doesn't have much effect on height. Maximum height is genetically determined, but poor nutrition and/or poor health can prevent a person from reaching that maximum. Health and nutrition have improved enormously in Europe since WWII and this is sufficient to explain the increases in height, although the exceptional height of the Dutch (the tallest people in the world) is still a bit mystifying.

In the case of the Dutch it's that dyke jumping history that makes them so tall!

The reason for the increased height of the Dutch is simply because the governement made it legal "to get high".

And i thought it was because thru centuries they were always trying to keep their heads above water---

I think that you will find thhe Body Mass Index has stayed about the same.

I thought height increases were going on in most countries of the world, but I remember noticing the Dutch were taller than average in my first trip there. So why are they so short in Scotland? I used to have a boyfriend from Glasgow who was 5'7" and he used to joke that when he emigrated, it lowered the average male's height in the country.

Height increases in recent decades have been closely correlated with improvements in health and nutrition. Genetic heights (the heights actually programmed by our genes) do not appear to be increasing. People two hundred years ago got just as tall as they do today <i>if</i> they had good nutrition and good health. But in the old days, with nutrition being often inadequate (in total calories or in proper balance), and with no treatments or preventative measures for disease, hardly anyone had a chance to eat properly and escape illness long enough to reach his genetic height.

In developed countries, height increases have generally leveled off as nutrtition and health care have reached high levels. The average height in the U.S. has been practically constant for many years now.

(got this from Rick Steve's) During WWII many people did not have access to adequate food and nutrition. Because of scarcity, many survived by eating tulip bulbs. That generation of children grew up to be fairly short by Dutch standards. Now though, the Dutch are the tallest of all.