by Nomad
A study reveals that the height of Americans on average is being outpaced by other countries for the first time in its history. The reasons are surprising.
Precise measurements of the living standards of any country can be a tricky business. In the past, economists have relied on a variety of tools to chart a nation's development or decline.
One method that has found a lot of support in the last few decades might seem a little unorthodox. By its medical name, it is known as auxology, the study of growth.
By merging two seemingly unrelated fields, the study of medicine and the study of the economy, researchers began making some interesting discoveries. They found that the average height of a citizen can say much about the overall living conditions inside a nation. The analysis can be applied to the bones of ancient Romans or to the records from modern nations.
And working on that basis, what they found when they looked at the US was intriguing but a little disturbing.
