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Level 3 – Intermediate
European men are growing taller
A German professor has recently published the results of research he has carried out into the relative heights of American and European men. He analysed information over the last two hundred years for around 250,000 people. The results are quite surprising.
He discovered that Americans have stopped growing. In the late 18th century, the height of an average American was 1 m 75 cm, which was about 5 cm more than the height of an average British man. Today, the British are 1.3 cm taller than the Americans. But the biggest difference is between the Dutch, who have reached an average height of 1 m 85 cm, and the Americans.
The reasons for this height difference are not at all clear but there are a number of possibilities. One suggestion is that Europeans get better healthcare than Americans, and in particular, better baby care. In the US, about 40 million Americans have no health insurance. Another reason may be linked to eating habits. Americans, who suffer from an obesity epidemic, certainly get enough food but they may not be eating the right food.
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C2 Mastery
