Bad Health Care, Deficient Welfare Keep Americans Short.

Not taller but wider. The times they are A-changing.
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Bad Health Care, Deficient Welfare Keep Americans Short.
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"We surmise that the health systems and high degree of social security in Europe provide better conditions for growth than the American health system, despite the fact that the (European) system costs twice as much," said study co-author John Komlos from the University of Munich in a statement. "There are also indications that American diets are deficient in several areas."
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From the Colonial times until roughly the 1970s, Americans were the tallest people in the world. But then, growth stagnated while Europeans spent the second half of the 20th century growing like weeds. Now, the average Dutchman is six centimeters taller than the average American -- "almost an exact reversal of the relationship in the middle of the 19th century," Komlos says.
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Researchers have established in recent years that wealthier families tend to provide better nutrition for their children and, as a result, they tend to grow taller. The drastic differences in the United States between rich and poor, the researchers pointed out, mean that the US average is pulled down by those who struggle to get by. Whereas in the US, some 15 percent of the population has no health insurance and those on welfare can barely get by, almost all citizens of northern and western European countries enjoy universal health care and a generous social net. The result is that even those children dependent on welfare in Europe have a sufficient living standard, the researchers concluded.
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http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,484168,00.html