In 1914, American men were the third-tallest in the world. Now, they're the 37th.

American men are much shorter than they were in 1914.

(Image credit: Reg Burkett/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

published 26 July 2016

When it came to height, Americans used to stand tall above the rest. Now, a new global study from London's Imperial College has found Americans are looking pretty short in comparison to the world's other nationalities. While in 1914 American men ranked as the third-tallest men in the world, they're now the 37th tallest. American women similarly dropped from being the fourth-tallest women to the 42nd.

Americans' drastically diminished standing doesn't necessarily mean we're shrinking, though; it more likely means other nationalities are just growing much, much faster. While Americans' upward growth began leveling off in the 1960s and '70s, other nationalities kept growing. Iranian men, who experienced the biggest growth spurt among men worldwide since 1914, grew by an average of more than 16 centimeters over the last century, while American men's average growth was a mere 6 centimeters. The study's authors contend poor nutrition, as well as "immigration from countries with shorter citizens," played a role in Americans' stunted growth, Time reported.

Nowadays, the world's leaders in height are Dutch men and Latvian women.