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University of Groningen Sex, Stature and Status Stulp, Gert University of Groningen Sex, stature and status Stulp, Gert IMPORTANT NOTE: You are advised to consult the publisher's version (publisher's PDF) if you wish to cite from it. Please check the document version below. Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Publication date: 2013 Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Stulp, G. (2013). Sex, stature and status: Natural selection on height in contemporary human populations [Groningen]: [S.n.] Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. Download date: 10-02-2018 SEX STATURE STATUS Natural selection on height in contemporary human populations Gert Stulp This research was carried out at the Department of Social Psychology and the Department of Behavioural Biology at the University of Groningen. The re- search was supported by a grant from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences awarded to Abraham P. Buunk. Financial support for printing the thesis was received from the University of Groningen and the Kurt Lewin Institute. Cover Marije Schmitz-Niehaus Lay-out Marije Schmitz-Niehaus & Gert Stulp Printed by Wöhrmann Print Service ISBN: 978-90-367-6010-2 RIJKSUNIVERSITEIT GRONINGEN SEX, STATURE AND STATUS Natural selection on height in contemporary human populations Proefschrift ter verkrijging van het doctoraat in de Gedrags- en Maatschappijwetenschappen aan de Rijksuniversiteit Groningen op gezag van de Rector Magnificus, dr. E. Sterken, in het openbaar te verdedigen op donderdag 21 maart 2013 om 11.00 uur door Gert Stulp geboren op 26 mei 1983 te Groningen Promotores: Prof. dr. A.P. Buunk Prof. dr. S. Verhulst Beoordelingscommissie: Prof. dr. A.G.G. Groothuis Prof. dr. M.C. Mills Prof. dr. M. van Vugt SYNTHESIS - CHAPTER 1 9 Sex, Stature and Status - Natural selection on height in contemporary human populations 1 CHAPTER 2 55 High and Mighty: height increases authority in professional football refereeing 2 CHAPTER 3 71 Tall claims? Sense and nonsense about the importance of height of US presidents 3 CHAPTER 4 97 Human height is positively related to interpersonal dominance in both verbal and non-verbal dyadic interactions 4 CHAPTER 5 125 Women want taller men more than men want shorter women 5 CHAPTER 6 141 The Height of Choosiness: mutual mate choice for stature results in sub-optimal pair formation for both sexes 6 CHAPTER 7 163 Are human mating preferences with respect to height reflected in actual pairings? 7 CHAPTER 8 179 Parental height differences predict the need for an emergency Caesarean section 8 CHAPTER 9 201 The effect of female height on reproductive success is negative in Western populations, but more variable in non-Western populations 9 CHAPTER 10 223 A curvilinear effect of height on reproductive success in human males 10 CHAPTER 11 245 Intralocus sexual conflict over human height 259 References 283 Dutch summary (Samenvatting) 11 295 Acknowledgements (Dankwoord) 299 Publications CHAPTER 1 SEX STATURE STATUS Natural selection on height in contemporary human populations A synthesis Gert Stulp SEX, STATURE AND STATUS: A SYNTHESIS The shortest person ever to have lived, Chandra Bahadur Dangi, reached an adult height1 of only 55 centimeters. He was, therefore, about the same size as one of Robert Pershing Wadlow’s feet, who was the tallest man 1 ever recorded, with a height of 2 meters and 72 centimeters2. Although these examples form the extremes of the height continuum, anyone who has trav- elled can confirm that height varies quite substantially across different popula- tions: while the shortest people on earth, the Efe hunter-gatherers from Congo, barely reach 150 centimeters on average, the tallest people, the Dutch, reach a whopping 185 centimeters3. Even within a population, substantial variation exists: the 5% shortest and 5% tallest Dutch people differ in height by approxi- mately 30 cm ���������������������������������������������������������������(McEvoy & Visscher, 2009)��������������������������������������. We cannot help but notice these dif- ferences in stature; we register almost instantly who is taller and shorter than we are. Indeed, as an upright walking animal, height may well be our most conspicuous feature. As with all biological traits, height is a product of the interaction between en- vironmental and genetic factors. Although, strictly speaking, the influence of the two cannot be separated, it is possible to identify both the genetic under- pinnings and the specific environmental factors that influence height. Indeed, two of the most consistent findings with respect to height variation within populations - socioeconomic gradients in height and the fact that grown-up children tend to be taller than their parents - are most likely explained by en- vironmental factors. In what follows, I explore these environmental effects in more detail, before going on to discuss the genetic basis for height in human populations. ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON HEIGHT Growth, and therefore stature, is very much dependent on nutrition (Silven- toinen 2003). More specifically, a person’s height at any particular age partly reflects that person’s history of net nutrition (Deaton, 2007; Steckel, 2002a): that is, the difference between the energy gained through food intake minus the loss of energy due to factors like disease and physical activity. Indeed, re- peated bouts of biological stress - whether from food deprivation, physically 1 The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines height as “The distance from the bottom to the top of some- thing standing upright” and the Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “The measurement of someone or something from head to foot or from base to top”. The Dutch word for height is ‘hoogte’, which is used to describe the height of nearly everything, except human beings, for which ‘lengte’ (i.e., length) is used. 2 Guinness Book of Records; Wadlow wore a US size 37, which translates into 49.6 cm. 3 This value refers to average male height; given that they are the tallest people in the world, it is ironic to note that the Dutch live in the Netherlands, or as they are sometimes called, the lowlands. 10 SEX, STATURE AND STATUS: A SYNTHESIS strenuous work, or illness (Batty et al., 2009; Nyström Peck & Lundberg, 1995; Silventoinen, 2003; Steckel, 1995) often lead to the stunting of growth and reduced adult height. 1 Lack of nutrition, particularly protein deficiency, is recognized as one of the main contributors to reduced infant growth in developing countries, and sup- plementary food programs have been shown to produce clear improvements in growth rates (Beaton & Ghassemi, 1982; Edozien et al., 1976; Silventoin- en, 2003). Due to the strong association between growth and nutrition, both UNICEF and the World Health Organization collect growth data as a means to assess the success of its supplementary food programs and to establish indicators of malnutrition (Onis et al., 1993; Steckel, 1995). The positive effects of supplemental feeding are obviously not restricted to developing nations, however; experiments conducted as long ago as 1928 showed that the provi- sion of extra milk increased the growth of schoolchildren in the UK (Leighton & Clark, 1929; Orr, 1928). In addition to, and intertwined with, the effects of malnutrition, childhood dis- ease is known to adversely affect growth. Mounting an immune response to fight infection increases metabolic requirements and can thus affect net nutri- tion. In addition, disease frequently prevents food intake, impairs nutrient ab- sorption, and causes nutrient loss (Silventoinen, 2003). Accordingly, recurrent infection is associated with a lower height-for-age (Dowd et al., 2009). In one study, children that experienced four or more bouts of pneumonia or bronchi- tis were, on average, 2.5 cm shorter than children without such a history of infection (Tanner, 1969). Adverse economic and social conditions in childhood, such as psychosocial stress, housing conditions and physically strenuous work, also lead to short stature in adulthood, (Cavelaars et al., 2000; Mascie-Taylor, 1991; Nyström Peck & Lundberg, 1995). Family size can also be a risk factor (Lawson & Mace, 2008; Rona et al., 1978): the presence of (many) siblings in childhood, for in- stance, significantly reduces an individual’s height (presumably because finite resources have to be distributed across all children, which leads to both re- duced nutrient intake and increased psychosocial stress). Even in a wealthy, well-nourished population like the UK (Lawson & Mace, 2008), those raised with four siblings are, on average, 3 cm shorter than those born without sib- lings. 11 SEX, STATURE AND STATUS: A SYNTHESIS It is clear, therefore, that childhood environment affects adult height, and that these environmental effects on stature are often substantial. Perhaps the best illustration of the often dramatic nature of these effects comes
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