[Futurework] About the Tallest and the Fattest.

[Tor F�rde]

ABSTRACTS IN ECONOMIC HISTORY                      (c) 2003 EH.Net ----------------------------------------------------------- Name:  John Komlos Email:  [EMAIL PROTECTED] Institution:  University of Munich Co-author:  Marieluise Baur Title:  From the Tallest in the World to (One of) the Fattest: The Enigmatic Fate of the Size of the American Population in the Twentieth Century Internet Address of abstracted work: http://www.vwl.uni-muenchen.de/ls_komlos/fattest.pdf By mail: Language:  English Abstract: 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 3-9 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. Bibliography: Komlos, John. "From the Tallest in the World to (One of) the Fattest: The Enigmatic Fate of the Size of the American Population in the Twentieth Century." University of Munich, Unpublished Manuscript, 2003. Subject:  U Geographical Area:  7 Country/Region:  US & Western Europe Time Period:  9 ------------------------------------------------------- Visit the library of Abstracts in Economic History or submit your abstract at: http://www.eh.net/abstracts