Of course they are getting taller. Now they can afford better food than rice and insects with a bit of chicken or fish now and then they inevitably grow larger and taller.

The fatter is down to lack of exercise ( always on the machines, and using m'bikes instead of walking ) and too much sugar and fat due to huge amount of processed food being eaten.

Even in the village the small shops sell mainly sugar and fat laden snack foods.

A result of better pre-natal nutrition behavior and access to better nutritional sources...and a mixed of DNA material..

Growth hormones used on beef and pork in the USA have been linked to an increase in average height of Americans. I am sure the big pork producers in Thailand must be using growth hormones as well so perhaps the results of that are starting to appear. Teenagers do indeed seem taller these days.

-double post-

Edited May 16, 201511 yr by T_Dog

Growth hormones used on beef and pork in the USA have been linked to an increase in average height of Americans. I am sure the big pork producers in Thailand must be using growth hormones as well so perhaps the results of that are starting to appear. Teenagers do indeed seem taller these days.

So if a cow were addicted to heroin prior to being butchered, you would get loaded eating a steak, yes?

You guys crack me up.

If you look at richer Asians like Korean and Japanese, they are taller, so no suprise Thais are getting taller too.

Europeans and Americans are also getting taller, a lot of teenage or 20 something WOMEN are as tall as

men used to be 20 years ago. Is it better quality food or growth hormones? Perhaps better nutrition at a very early age?

Who knows?

Growth hormones used on beef and pork in the USA have been linked to an increase in average height of Americans. I am sure the big pork producers in Thailand must be using growth hormones as well so perhaps the results of that are starting to appear. Teenagers do indeed seem taller these days.

growth hormones can't pass the stomach....you can swallow any amount of it without effect. It must be injected.

Have to agree, Was at Wife's village in Issan last year and her nieces and nephews have all grown up and are quite tall. I commented on it as they are taller than their parents. As others have noted it is due to beter diet and nutrition. Certainly better than the meager food my wife and her siblings had growing up,

LL

Some kids are getting taller, but on average most Thais still are not that big. It's more like tall guys starting to spring out in a big field of short people. Look around you, and you will see few Thais who are taller than 180 cm. The taller young Thais are maybe 175 or 180, but a Thai man who is 190 cm is still very rare. But in Amsterdam or Berlin, 190 cm guys are a dime a dozen.

 

Northeast Asian countries have proportionally far more people who are at least 180 cm. Walk around in Chiang Mai, then walk around in Beijing, Taipei, or Seoul. The difference in height is stark. A tall guy won't really stick out that much in China, Taiwan, South Korea, or Japan, but not in Thailand.

 

Still, the average Thai is taller than the average Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, or Burmese.

 

Outside of Bangkok, I am still struck at how tiny most Thais are. Some adult Thai women are about as tall as 10-12 year old Western schoolchildren. If you are 180 cm or over, you will stick out like a sore thumb and feel like everyone around you is at your shoulder level or lower.

 

 

Thai people are traditionally small because of malnutrition (or maybe it should be called 'different nutrition').

If you feed them western style food as children, they turn out to be western shape and size.

Unlimited pork, chicken, fish, cheese, eggs, milk and a small Thai child grows up to be the same size as any western person.

I know, because I've done this a couple of times.

 

England was the same in the middle ages, limited food produced a nation of small people.

(just look at any suit of armour, our historic best warriors were as tiny as Thais)

Edited September 5, 20187 yr by BritManToo

On 5/18/2015 at 4:45 AM, tuonsai said:

Perhaps better nutrition at a very early age?

Better nutrition around puberty IMHO (2-3 years before to 2-3 years after).

Even if the Thai kids eat the same as Western kids they won't get the same amount of excercise and sleep.

Where i come from the kids go to bed early at night, can be 7-8-9 pm depending on age. I've never seen bedtime for kids in Thailand...also no rules about what they have to eat or do.