Geographic latitude and human height - Statistical analysis and case studies from China

Abstract

Based on Chinese General Social Survey(CGSS) data, this paper selects ten variables, including height, gender, household registration, and age. Through the statistical analysis of 57,574 survey samples, this study finds that the average height of China’s population has increased by more than 10 cm in the past 100 years. Among the findings, the data indicate the average height of men born after the 1990s is 11 cm taller than that of men born after the 1920s, which has now reached 173 cm, and that the height of women is 10.93 cm taller, averaging 163 cm. The average height of the Chinese population reflects significant differences in gender, region or province, urbanity and rurality, and nationality, among other variables. The average height of men and women gradually increases with the increase of geographical latitude. Some economically developed southern provinces approach the average height of the North. This paper predicts that the average height of the newborn population will continue to have inertial growth in the next 20 years, and the newborn male population will reach the World Health Organization’s ideal height standard of 176.5 cm by 2030. The analysis suggests that geographic latitude and heredity are the determinants of body development. Geographical latitude difference is a super-variable for human mitochondria to regulate the proportion of heat outflow and ATP transformation. Historically, the population living in high-latitude areas of China migrates to economically developed low-latitude provinces such as Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong, which is the main reason why the per capita height in these areas is significantly taller than that in other southern provinces.