Eli5 why are people taller now days even even if we have less testrone

Question

Eli5 why are people taller now days even even if we have less testrone

In: 0

Answer 1

This question may need clarification, as who is “we” and how tall is “taller” based from.

This article from 1998 covers the topic sufficiently well:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-are-we-getting-taller/

Essentially it comes down to genetic potential, selection preference, and nutrition. If people with the potential to grow to 6′ are malnourished during growth than their resulting height could be stunted. Likewise someone whos potential caps at 5’6″ even if fully nourished wouldnt gain extra height. Dwarfism is an example of that, as they have limited potential for growth moreso than others. And for selection preference, some are attracted to shorter people while some are attracted to taller people. Currently in USA mainstream depiction of attractive people are on the taller side.