why is it that people from thailand are smaller than people from the west?

Question

i don't believe it is to do with diet. they are genetically different. if you brought a thai kid to the uk and fed him/her on a western diet, s/he would still grow up smaller than his peers because his/her frame / bone structure is smaller. why is this?

Answer 1

While genetics has a lot to do with it, I heard an interesting fact a few years ago. The average height in Japan has gone up 4 full inches since WW II. They believe that is a direct result of getting more milk into the national diet. It certainly doesn't make them healthier, but all that fat at a young age does make them taller.

I don't know enough about Thailand to be sure, but I would think that the average diet is not very calorie intense or high in fat.

Answer 2

Height is something really interesting as it is very complex. the adult stature of a human being is determined by a variety of factors and there is a huge debate about weather the environment or the genetics play a bigger role, but generally you can say that your height depends on the genetic predisposition - i.e. what your parents passed on to you, the environmental influences and nutrition is also a huge factor even if that may seem weird to you, but actually what we eat has a strong effect on our development when we are young and thus our growth.

It is very difficult to draw a line between genetics and environmental factors because some extent of imprinting takes place while the child is still in the womb. There are loads of studies on this topic and other morphological changes that can occur in 2nd and 3rd generation children of immigrants. and i suggest a round on google scholar which should give you lots of interesting stuff. If you want to really learn more about growth there are 2 great books on this topic:

Roche, A and Sun, S (2003) Human Growth: Assessment and Interpretation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Borgin, B (1999) Patterns of Human Growth, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

also check out wikipedia which has an interesting section on human height - the part about variation throughout time is debated though http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_height

Answer 3

Because thats the traits they inherit from their ancestors. For example, Yao Ming's genes determined that he would be tall, as his predecessors likely were, and conversely, Tai people are short because they inherit "short" genes from their predecessors.
If a Tai person moved away from the orient, of course they would carry the same genes- it is true environmental factors and diet play a role, but it is relatively insignificant in determining the heighth, build, and features of a person.
If a short person marries a tall person, their children will be taller.
It is all about genetics.

Answer 4

According to the Vedic knowledge their are 8400,000, species of life and 4,000 species of human beings. They exist on all different planets. People are born on a certain planet OR in a certain place in the world due to their karma from a previous life. They are a particular species of human beings. You can make categories by what people eat, their height, color, modes of nature, etc. Read Bhagavad Gita as it is By Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada- gives all this knowledge in great detail. go to harekrishnatemple.c to get some idea what I am talking about.

Answer 5

i honestly dotn know aboutthailand, but diet could certainly play a part. the koreans both north and south are geneticlaly identical for all intents and purposes, yet, south koreans average 5 inches taller than their northern counterparts.

Answer 6

i would not say they are smaller than all people in the west. the mayan peoples of mexico and guatemala are gentically small.

Answer 7

i believe its because of there environment they live in