Estimating male and female height inequality

Area of Science:

• Human biology
• Anthropometry
• Population studies

Background:

• Human height variation is a key indicator of population health and developmental plasticity.
• Understanding sex-based differences in height variation provides insights into evolutionary and environmental factors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the coefficient of variation (CV) of height in males and females as a comparative measure of inequality.
• To analyze the relationship between male and female height CVs across diverse populations over time.

Main Methods:

• Data compilation of corresponding male and female height CVs from 124 populations.
• Statistical analysis of the collected height CV data, spanning from the 1840s to the 1980s.
• Correlation analysis to determine the relationship between male and female height CVs.

Main Results:

• A significant correlation was found between male and female height CVs (R² = 0.39).
• The coefficient of variation for male height was consistently greater than that for female height across populations.
• This finding indicates a higher degree of plasticity in male height development compared to female height.

Conclusions:

• Height variation, measured by CV, differs between sexes, with males exhibiting greater plasticity.
• The observed differences in height plasticity may be influenced by genetic, environmental, or developmental factors.
• This study contributes to the understanding of human biological variation and sexual dimorphism in growth patterns.