Eli5 Why are women so much shorter than men?
In: 60
Excellent question. Typically we ask why men are larger, but not why are women smaller.
Nutrition. Less mass means fewer calories are required. When you get pregnant or breastfeed your calorie requirements go up dramatically, and it can be hard to get the required amount of calories, even for many women who have access to modern foods that are calorie dense.
Evolution doesn’t favor traits that make your life easier, it favors traits that can promote reproduction.
This is also why the only people to survive in the donner party without resorting to cannibalism were women. We just need less food to survive.
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