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They couldn't have known that Australians would start growing at a rate of knots: over the past 150 years our average height has soared almost 15cm. Now each generation is 3-4cm taller than the previous one.
Australia's population has grown taller and taller over the past century, thanks to improved healthcare, nutrition and hygiene. A global height analysis of 200 countries quite literally measured the average growth of global populations from 1914 to 2014, with every country recording an increase in height.
Australian men are 179.20cm (5 feet 10.55 inches) tall on average. Australian women are 165.85cm (5 feet 5.29 inches) tall.
Scientists have known for a long time that humans with good diets and reliable access to food tend to grow taller, and mature more quickly. In South Korea, for example, adult height has rocketed as the nation transformed from a poor country to a developed society.
Changes in Boys
They tend to grow most quickly between ages 12 and 15. The growth spurt of boys is, on average, about 2 years later than that of girls.
A few hundred years is simply not enough time for significant evolutionary changes to come about. Therefore, the small gain in average human height experienced in many countries over the last few hundred years was not caused evolution. The most likely cause is improved nutrition and health.
The average height of an Australian woman is 161cm and 175cm for a man. This is more than double the size of a small Hobbit, which, according to J.R.R. Tolkien, range between 2-4 feet tall (61-122cm).
"The Aussie climate definitely drives a more active lifestyle simply because we tend to spend more time outdoors. We also have access to beautiful fresh produce all year round, which means it's easier to make better food choices and nourish our bodies in the right way."
Besides working as herding animals, Aussies serve as police dogs, narcotics detectors and competitors in obedience trials. They also make great family pets. They are a recent addition to the AKC herding group; some Aussie breeders fear AKC recognition may create undue emphasis on appearance over ability.
The 1980 generation may have been the tallest ever, benefiting from a huge increase in height.
The differences in height are the result of a number of different public and personal health factors, including the increased availability of food (protein was comparatively abundant and affordable in the Australian colonies, and the comparatively benign environment (lower population density and cleaner drinking water) ...
Firstborn children are taller compared to those born subsequently, and this height advantage increases sharply over the higher order of birth of siblings.
The average child's height has increased by between 1cm to 3cm (0.3in to 1.1in) every decade over the past 50 years, says Professor Mitch Blair, officer for health promotion at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. So children today are on average between 5cm and 15cm (2in to 6in) taller.
The average height for men in Australia - 178.8 cm/ 5 ft 9 in. The average height for men in the USA - 176.9 cm/ 5 ft 8 in. The average height for men in India - 166.5 cm/ 5 ft 5 in.
The ideal height for a woman, according to the average man, is 5'6”. Notably, this excludes 10% of men who say there is no such thing as too short and 9% who say no height is too tall. Similarly, there is no "too short" for 4% of women and no "too tall" for 7%.
According to a survey conducted in 2019 by Ipsos on male beauty, 40 percent of Australian respondents stated that they preferred men to be between 5 feet 10 inches (about 178cm) to 6 feet 1 inch (about 185cm) tall.
In the United Kingdom and Australia, the average male is around 70 inches tall (5′ 10″). In France, the average male measures 69.5 inches (5′ 9″). In most cases, female height tracks male height, such that nations with taller males also have taller females.
These people, as far as it can be ascertained, are the descendants of the people from Roonka. Their statures were adjusted for the stature loss with age, so that the data represent young individuals (< or = 30 years of age). The average male stature was 1,712 mm, and the average female stature was 1,567 mm.
Short stature is generally defined as an adult height of 147cm or less, although most people with dwarfism only grow to between 120cm and 130cm.
Increased height from generation to generation is due to improvements in the health and nutrition of children. Malnutrition and childhood diseases prevent children from reaching their full genetic potential for height.
Just because we do not see a specific ancestral trait does not mean that he/she does not carry it. The more tall ancestors you have determines the likelihood of you being tall, however, if there is even one ancestor that carries the genetics of shortness you have a possibility of ending up short!