humans getting bigger

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lotuseatsvipers

CloseMindedBob
Registered Senior Member
Has anyone heard any reasons for why humans have been consistantly getting bigger over the years.

I remember offhandedly hearing that its because we started eating meat. I dont know if I believe this at all. Although if i like at regions/nationalities it MIGHT fit.
 
Humans are getting more upright, due to using our forelimbs solely as manipulators now.

Also, more food is becoming more widely available. We've always eaten meat. But for many of us we have greater access to larger quantities of food, so our bodies have all the nutrients they need to grow to some full measure.
 
what about things like our feet size. its been growing tremendously in just the recent 100 years.

I guess you need big feet to balance big bodies, but still seems weird to be attributable to just nutrition, but come to think of it, thats about the only explanation possible.
 
I think it all comes from the evolution of little kids trying to reach the cookie jar on the top shelf :p
 
Xenu, when I was little I used to stay at my grandparents' place on weekends. I could never reach the munchies. However, the pet food was kept in a bottom cupboard. We have here dog munchies called Good O's. A big O dog biscuit. Looked like niscuits to me. I ate them all the time. My grandmother was fine with it. Then when I was older, maybe 7 or so, I used to eat raw wheat. Anyway, the thing about not being able to reach the biscuits reminded me.
 
ya i saw this 'special' on big feet a few years back I'd say. Don't remember much about it besides the fact that human feet have grown a remarkable amount. mine or like a size 9, so I guess this growth thing passed me up (also im only 5'7" ish so i guess THAT growth thing passed me up also):eek:
 
Take a look in a museum. Things like clothes and suits of armor will give you a good look at how much bigger we've gotten.
 
Originally posted by lotuseatsvipers
I remember offhandedly hearing that its because we started eating meat.
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Surely we ate more meat ... when we started out? :p Now there's more vegeatbles and stuff, before we just ate stuff that we could spear. :p
 
Surely we ate more meat ... when we started out?
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That's what I thought too, because way back then, meat would have been more key to survival, being more substantial and filling than vegetables, providing more energy.
 
my fiance, med student, guessed that it was because the hormones and bad things we feed to the animals that we eat. which is a very plausible idea, considering the biggest amount of growth has occured in recent times.
 
Doesn't that mean, though, that there should be a distinctly noticeable difference in size between vegetarians and non? :confused: :p
 
posted by Firefly,
"Doesn't that mean, though, that there should be a distinctly noticeable difference in size between vegetarians and non?"

Only if you are raised on a vegetarian diet, as yo ugrow for abour 15-20 years and then stop.
 
Here's a theory...

Different planets have different gravities. Different gravities are going to support different sizes of creatures. For instance, if a planet has high gravity and life were to be on it, the creatures would be more squatter.

A lot of effects from gravity can be reduced if the creature is a quadraped, it's center of gravity would be close to the ground. We see many different sizes of quadrapeds.

Humans are bipedal animals however and have to balance on two legs, relying heavily on center of gravity. Perhaps, given our planets gravity, a larger size than we are is the most efficient in having a balancing center of gravity.

Humans have relatively recently become bipedal so we're in the stage of evolving from a 4-on-the-floor primate to an efficiently walking 2-legger.

Just a thought.
 
well in reference to the vegetarians should be smaller then.

ever heard the milk industry being blamed for women devoloping early...as in breast size. The cows are loaded with so many female hormones now, and it comes right through the milk (i refuse to touch that stuff, but that is for another day).

just an example of how the hormone very possibly effected a persons growth, i dont have any data to back that up....

also, its just the AVERAGE size of people that has gone up, theres still plenty of short people. how many people do you know that were vegetarian through their important early growth stages?? If there are any I have no idea if they are short or not, but they are such a statistically small group their size would have almost zero effect on the overall average.

Humans are bipedal animals however and have to balance on two legs, relying heavily on center of gravity. Perhaps, given our planets gravity, a larger size than we are is the most efficient in having a balancing center of gravity.
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I find it almost impossible to think one could consider effects of evolution in recent human history (ESPECIALLY the latest 100 years where a lot of growth occured), because I think humans have almost wiped out any real effects of evolution, eh perhaps not, just a thought.

also shorter people have a better center of gravity, I would think getting bigger would be going against what you just said?
 
Adam said:
Humans are getting more upright, due to using our forelimbs solely as manipulators now.

Also, more food is becoming more widely available. We've always eaten meat. But for many of us we have greater access to larger quantities of food, so our bodies have all the nutrients they need to grow to some full measure.
Click to expand...

when we talk about nutrition as a mechanism for human growth are we talking about humans evolving in size, or just the individual growth of people. because what we eat in our life wouldn't change our DNA to that of a larger animal, so the size would have no way of carrying over to our offspring.

Also, I was wondering in our modern day society everyone is given the same rights to nourishment as everyone else. this leaves everybody, no matter whether they are weak or not, alive to be able to mate. So, since there is seemingly no more physical competition for food, are we still evolving?
 
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