From the Tallest to (One of) the Fattest: The Enigmatic Fate of the American Population in the 20th Century

Within the course of the 20th century the American population went
through a metamorphosis from being the tallest in the world, to
being among the most overweight. The American height advantage over
Western and Northern Europeans was between 3 and 9 cm in the middle
of the 19th century. Americans were also underweight. However,
today, the exact opposite is the case as the Dutch, Swedes, and
Norwegians are the tallest, and the Danes, British and Germans –
even the East-Germans - are also taller, towering over the
Americans by as much as 3-7 cm. Americans also live shorter. The
hypothesis is worth considering that this adverse development is
related to the greater social inequality, an inferior health-care
system, and fewer social safety nets in the United States than in
Western and Northern Europe, in spite of higher per capita income.
The West- and Northern European welfare states, with cradle to
grave health and unemployment insurance currently provide a more
propitious environment for the biological standard of living than
its US counterpart.