Humans

Does social status shape height?

A controversial idea suggests there’s more to stature than genetics and nutrition

Art of people walking around beside rulers

Social factors may contribute to the variation seen in human height.

Phil Wrigglesworth

By Sujata Gupta

The Maya people of Guatemala are among the shortest people in the world. Men on average hover a few inches above 5 feet and women a few inches below. But if they move to the United States as children, the Maya grow taller. That extra growth carries to the next generation: Maya children born to Guatemalan immigrants in the United States are roughly four inches taller than their peers in Guatemala, research by biological anthropologist Barry Bogin shows.