Fewer children leads to growth spurt among European men, says research

European men have grown by an average of 11cm in the last century thanks to better food, less disease — and having fewer children.

The University of Essex in Britain studied average height in 21-year-old men from the 1870s to 1980, and discovered it had risen from 167cm to 178cm.

“Although average height has fluctuated across the centuries, the increase since the late 19th century has been truly unprecedented,” said the research lead author, Timothy Hatton.