In 1892, WT Porter published a study of 33 500 students entitled ‘The physical basis of precocity and dullness’ in which he reported that taller students performed better academically than did shorter students of the same age.1 Since then many studies in developed and developing countries have shown that children who are shorter or whose linear growth is retarded tend to gain lower scores in te...

Adult height is determined by genetic potential and by net nutrition, the balance between food intake and the demands on it, including the demands of disease, most importantly during early childhood. Historians have made effective use of recorded heights to indicate living standards, in both health and income, for periods where there are few other data. Understanding the determinants of height ...