We all adapt to our environment, but why are Asians generally smaller than other races?

Question

DISCLAIMER: THS IS NOT A RACIST QUESTION FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE EASILY OFFENDED!

What in the environment caused Asians to be smaller?

Answer 1

Classic case of Nurture (food) over Nature (genetics)

By attending parent's night at my children's school over the years I have watched their Asian friends grow so that by high school many are way taller and bigger than their parents who were raised in Asia.

I conclude that the high protein, high calorie diet common in America supports the Asian kids growth. Plentiful cheap food causes these kids to grow and is a more powerful influence than genetics.  

Most parts of Asia are densely populated and historically food has been precious there. The kids I'm referring to got milk at school every day, a high fat school lunch every day and their parents shopped at American food stores which have super cheap prices compared to Asia.

Answer 2

Genetics, that's all.

I mean, we all are the sum of our ancestors DNA.

I have genetic characteristics from my own family tree, just like Asian people do from theirs.  Just the way the Good Lord made us all.

peace out.

Answer 3

Nutrition. World populations have been getting increasingly taller. Large portions of the 20th century were incredibly traumatic for Asian nations, and thus, growing children did not have access to good nutrition. Yao Ming should be proof enough that Asians are capable of growing very very very....very tall.

The American population has also grown taller in the past decades.

Generally speaking, only people living in extreme climates (Inuits in the Arctic, or Masai tribesman in arid African plains) have a distinct functional morphology.

Answer 4

Adaptation is not the only cause of variability.

Another big one is the founder effect.This is most likely a founder effect phenomenon.

It may also be about nutrition, which explains why so many Asians are taller than mom and dad.

Answer 5

Interesting question. I have no idea.

Maybe their low protien diet (rice etc)

Answer 6

what happened before was that before they used to be in the northern part of asia and in russia. Up in that enviorment its cold and in colder enviorments its better to be short and husky so your body can trap heat easier. Also  it takes alot of muscle power to be able to live in such cold climate. Thats why if you noticed koreans and other northern orientals generally look more built or husky then southern asians. Thats because in more warm enviorments its better to be taller and leaner so heat can be easier to escape.

Northen Orientals are better suitted for living in the cold in general then northen europeans also. They call eropeans nordic  but they are not even as good for living in cold as northern orientals also orientals  where living in cold climmates longer than europeans.Living in the cold is also alot harder than living on warmer climates because food is much more scarce and hard to find and hunt for even if you find anaimals to hunt. which means that they would have to be smarter to get food and only the strong and smarter would survive.

Answer 7

There are environmental factors that push and pull us in different directions.  One is to get bigger so that we are physically stronger and can protect ourselves, but if we become too large, we pay a price for it in having to eat more.  Several factors go into why we are short tall fat or skinny.  Some are environmental and some are sexual selection.  Asians (orientals) have black hair and extra fat on their eye lids probably as a protection from the high Himalaya where they developed.  This environment would tend to develop robust individuals.  When moving into Southeast Asia in the warm temperate environments, I would think this would tend to favor much smaller and thinner individuals.

Answer 8

if it is true its because  that is exactly what their country  focuses on- all for the 'betterment' of the country--individual happiness is not a priority,i know a couple in china, both highly ecucated but live in a small apt. and she is a doctor! they were really more or less 'encoruaged' to only have the one child, so now he is educated too,  they live for education and then for work,  you don't see many asians sitting around enjoying a symphony,  it's always learn learn, tomorrow we take over the world--that kind of mentality,  but the poor asians are not smart at all- they work like robots in factories or on dead end farms, and have no way out, and no-one cares for their intellect.