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From the Tallest to (One of) the Fattest: The Enigmatic Fate of the American Population in the 20th Century

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Author Info
Komlos, John
Baur, Marieluise

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Abstract

Within the course of the 20th century the American population went through a metamorphosis from being the tallest in the world, to being among the most overweight. The American height advantage over Western and Northern Europeans was between 3 and 9 cm in the middle of the 19th century. Americans were also underweight. However, today, the exact opposite is the case as the Dutch, Swedes, and Norwegians are the tallest, and the Danes, British and Germans – even the East-Germans - are also taller, towering over the Americans by as much as 3-7 cm. Americans also live shorter. The hypothesis is worth considering that this adverse development is related to the greater social inequality, an inferior health-care system, and fewer social safety nets in the United States than in Western and Northern Europe, in spite of higher per capita income. The West- and Northern European welfare states, with cradle to grave health and unemployment insurance currently provide a more propitious environment for the biological standard of living than its US counterpart.

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Paper provided by University of Munich, Department of Economics in its series Discussion Papers in Economics with number 76.

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Date of creation: Jul 2003
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Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenec:76

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Related research
Keywords: Height; Biological Standard of Living; Welfare State; Anthropometry; Social inequality; Health;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare and Poverty - - - General Welfare
J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities and Races; Non-labor Discrimination
N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
P50 - Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - General

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Bruno S. Frey & Alois Stutzer, 2002. "What Can Economists Learn from Happiness Research?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 40(2), pages 402-435, June.
    Other versions:
  2. Triest, Robert K, 1998. "Has Poverty Gotten Worse?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 97-114, Winter. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Robert Kaestner & Won Chan Lee, 2003. "The Effect of Welfare Reform on Prenatal Care and Birth Weight," NBER Working Papers 9769, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Osberg, Lars & Sharpe, Andrew, 2002. "An Index of Economic Well-Being for Selected OECD Countries," Review of Income and Wealth, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(3), pages 291-316, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Komlos, John & Smith, Patricia K. & Bogin, Barry, 2003. "Obesity and the Rate of Time Preference: Is there a Connection?," Discussion Papers in Economics 60, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  6. Sunder, Marco, 2003. "The making of giants in a welfare state: the Norwegian experience in the 20th century," Economics and Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 267-276, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. John Komlos, . "On the Biological Standard of Living of Eighteenth-Century Americans: Taller, Richer, Healthier," Articles by John Komlos 3, Department of Economics, University of Munich. [Downloadable!]
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  8. Komlos, John, 1987. "The Height and Weight of West Point Cadets: Dietary Change in Antebellum America," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 47(04), pages 897-927, December. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Baten, Jorg & Murray, John E., 2000. "Heights of Men and Women in 19th-Century Bavaria: Economic, Nutritional, and Disease Influences," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 351-369, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. John Komlos & Peter Coclanis, . "Nutrition and Economic Development in Post-Reconstruction South Carolina: an Anthropometric Approach," Articles by John Komlos 15, Department of Economics, University of Munich.
  11. Anne Case & Angela Fertig & Christina Paxson, 2003. "From Cradle to Grave? The Lasting Impact of Childhood Health and Circumstance," NBER Working Papers 9788, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Komlos, John & Kriwy, Peter, 2003. "The Biological Standard of Living in the two Germanies," Discussion Papers in Economics 55, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Komlos, John & Lauderdale, Benjamin E., 2006. "Underperformance in affluence: the remarkable relative decline in American heights in the second half of the 20th-century," Discussion Papers in Economics 1241, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Yoko Akachi & David Canning, 2007. "The Height of Women in Sub-Saharan Africa: the Role of Health, Nutrition, and Income in Childhood," PGDA Working Papers 2207, Program on the Global Demography of Aging. [Downloadable!]
  3. Olaf Hübler, 2006. "The Nonlinear Link between Height and Wages: An Empirical Investigation," IZA Discussion Papers 2394, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  4. John Komlos & Ariane Breitfelder, 2007. "The height of US-born non-Hispanic children and adolescents ages 2-19, born 1942-2002 in the NHANES Samples," NBER Working Papers 13324, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Monasterio, Leonardo M & Noguerol, Luiz Paulo & Shikida, Claudio Djissey, 2006. "Growth and inequalities of height in Brazil (1939-1981)," MPRA Paper 769, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jul 2006. [Downloadable!]
  6. Wenshu Gao & Russell Smyth, 2009. "Health Human Capital, Height and Wages in China," Monash Economics Working Papers 05/09, Monash University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Adolfo Meisel R. & Margarita Vega A., 2006. "Los orígenes de la antropometría histórica y su estado actual," CUADERNOS DE HISTORIA ECONÓMICA Y EMPRESARIAL 003175, BANCO DE LA REPÚBLICA - ECONOMÍA REGIONAL. [Downloadable!]
  8. Scott A. Carson, 2008. "Geography and Insolation in 19th Century US African-American and White Statures," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  9. Scott A. Carson, 2007. "Health during Industrialization: Evidence from the 19th Century Pennsylvania State Prison System," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  10. Scott A. Carson, 2007. "African-American and White Inequality in the American South: Evidence from the 19th Century Missouri State Prison," CESifo Working Paper Series CESifo Working Paper No. , CESifo Group Munich. [Downloadable!]
  11. Lex Borghans & Bart H. H. Golsteyn, 2005. "Time Discounting and the Body Mass Index," IZA Discussion Papers 1597, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  12. Komlos, John & Meermann, Lukas, 2004. "The Introduction of Anthropometrics into Development and Labor Economics," Discussion Papers in Economics 381, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  13. Komlos, John & Cinnirella, Francesco, 2005. "European Heights in the Early 18th Century," Discussion Papers in Economics 572, University of Munich, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  14. Jaume Garcia Villar & Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2006. "The Evolution of Adult Height in Europe: A Brief Note," Economics Working Papers 1002, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, revised Feb 2007. [Downloadable!]
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  15. John Komlos & Ariane Breitfelder & Marco Sunder, 2008. "The Transition to Post-industrial BMI Values Among US Children," NBER Working Papers 13898, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  16. Sonya K. Huffman & Marian Rizov, 2007. "The Rise of Obesity in Transition Economies: Theory and Evidence from the Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey," LICOS Discussion Papers 18507, LICOS - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance, K.U.Leuven. [Downloadable!]
  17. Mary Burke & Frank Heiland, 2006. "Social dynamics of obesity," Public Policy Discussion Paper 06-5, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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