Are the Dutch so tall because they were neutral in WW1?

[Peterski]

It is known that the Dutch used to be one of the shortest nations in Europe 200 years ago:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...le-are-so-tall

"Average height of a male in the Netherlands has gained 20 cm (eight inches) in the last 150 years, according to military records"

It was much easier to die in trenches of WW1 if you were 185cm tall than if you were 165cm tall, for obvious reasons (a tall man is a bigger target for machine guns and artillery, a tall man also has it harder to hide himself from enemy fire inside the trenches).

Maybe the Dutch gained an edge in height after WW1 because all their tall men survived?:

[Peterski]

QUOTE: "But how the Dutch became the world’s tallest people has been somewhat of a mystery. After all, two centuries ago they were renowned for being among the shortest. What happened since then?

A popular explanation is nutrition – a calorie-stuffed diet rich in meat and dairy products. But that can’t be the whole story, experts say.

Other European countries, too, have enjoyed similar prosperity and a rise in living standards, yet their citizens have not shot skywards as much. The average male height in the Netherlands has gained 20 cm (eight inches) in the last 150 years, according to military records. By comparison, the height of the average American man has risen a mere six centimetres over the same period."

^^^
Natural selection (WW1 killing most of tall men in other nations, while Dutch men survived because they were neutral) comes to mind.

[TheMaestro]

Maybe, it's just the food they are eating or good lifestyle, can't tell, it's a mystery for me too. Nomally people always thought Scandinavians are the highest people excluding FIN, but then the statistics came out XD.
Aswell I always thought black people are the highest(basketball players - Jordan Pippen etc), but statistics have shown that they are one of the shortest people in the world? What is more intresting that most of the highest Africans come actually from the US, I heard a "myth" that Afro-Americans used to be fed up by special vitams and shit to get taller and muscular so they were more capable for the slave work.

[Daugakrit]

Maybe, it's just the food they are eating or good lifestyle, can't tell, it's a mystery for me too. Nomally people always thought Scandinavians are the highest people excluding FIN, but then the statistics came out XD.
Aswell I always thought black people are the highest(basketball players - Jordan Pippen etc), but statistics have shown that they are one of the shortest people in the world? What is more intresting that most of the highest Africans come actually from the US, I heard a "myth" that Afro-Americans used to be fed up by special vitams and shit to get taller and muscular so they were more capable for the slave work.

African Americans are probably more fit than Africans because they were literally selected. don't want a small framed guy if there's someone stronger. Plus a lot of them died on the way there, and only the healthiest survived. No idea about the Dutch though, seems to me they just like physical excersise.

Sent from my HTC One M9

[Insuperable]

Yes. WW1 trenches are the first thing that comes to mind.

[Peterski]

Yes. WW1 trenches are the first thing that comes to mind.

Indeed, war is hell for us tall men.

[Insuperable]

I was being sarcastic.

[Peterski]

I was being sarcastic.

I wouldn't know, you don't seem bright enough to be capable of sarcasm.

[Insuperable]

I wouldn't know, you don't seem bright enough to be capable of sarcasm.

I know you wouldn't know because you don't seem bright enough to recognize sarcasm.

[Peterski]

I did recognize your sarcasm but I decided to ignore it because I noticed (while reading your other posts before) that you are just some angry dude who lashes out on people on this forum for posting brilliant threads such as this one. My hypothesis is groundbreaking.