What height says about the development of our prosperity and healthAs a boy, did you grow up among sisters in around 1850? Then you probably grew taller than a boy who only had brothers. Someone's height says a lot about the quality of life in their first 20 years. Malnutrition, disease and hard labour can inhibit people's growth. Historian Björn Quanjer studied how the height of Dutch men between 1850 and 1950 was influenced by the households in which they grew up.
