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This page contains all of the posts and discussion on MemeStreams referencing the following web page: Yahoo! News - Americans Getting Taller, Much Heavier. You can find discussions on MemeStreams as you surf the web, even if you aren't a MemeStreams member, using the Threads Bookmarklet.

Yahoo! News - Americans Getting Taller, Much Heavier
by dmv at 7:46 pm EDT, Oct 27, 2004

] Adults are roughly an inch taller than they were in the
] early 1960s, on average, and nearly 25 pounds heavier,
] the government reported Wednesday.

Men: 5'9.5", 191 pounds
Women: 5'4", 163.4 pounds

The younger weight categories are even more disturbing.

Americans Getting Taller, Much Heavier
by noteworthy at 9:51 pm EDT, Oct 27, 2004

Americans are getting a little taller and a lot fatter.
Obesity, aided by poor diet and lack of activity, threatens to overtake tobacco use as the leading preventable cause of death.
"Everyone has a leaf blower. Ten years ago, people had rakes."
"What will happen with the next generation of adults is really scary."

An average 15-year-old boy weighed 135.5 pounds in 1966 and 150.3 pounds by 2002.

The full report is at

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ad/ad347.pdf

Yahoo! News - Americans Getting Taller, Much Heavier
by Decius at 2:23 pm EDT, Oct 28, 2004

] Height, while determined largely by genetics, also is
] influenced by childhood nutrition. Adults in the early
] 1960s grew up during tougher times when they may not have
] had enough to eat, Klein said.

Is this really the cause? I find it hard to beleive that baby boomers had slim pickings at the dinner table in the 50's.