Kin_Taburo // Shutterstock How human height has changed over time—and what might be behind it A man with a beard and a black t-shirt measures his height with a tape measure.

The chart shows the correlation between child height at various ages and adult height. At birth, the correlation between birth height (or length) and adult height is about 0.4, meaning that only ...

It's no secret that if your dad is tall and your mother is tall, you are probably going to be tall. But fully understanding the genetics of height has been a big order for scientists.

In a study of mouse and human genes, scientists pinpointed 145 genes that regulate the cartilage cells in kid's growth plates and could determine how tall they grow.

Global average height increased steadily until the 1980s with little fluctuation Chart showing average global height over time, increasing since the late 1800s and plateauing in the 1980s.

Average human height in countries such as the U.S., U.K., and Japan has leveled off at around 5 feet and 10 inches over the last few decades.