Why are Americans getting shorter?

Climate change. Or a reaction to a response to climate change.*

From the Washington Post, December 15:

You already know we’re getting heavier. Rising obesity rates are as American as apple pie — a cliché that seems freshly relevant in this context. But did you know we’re also getting shorter?

We didn’t! At least, not until we tried to use the National Health Interview Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to figure out which professions boast the tallest workers.

We split the rankings by gender, so our analysis didn’t simply lead us to the most male-dominated jobs, such as mechanics and engineers. Among women, the tallest are public officials — a category that includes top executives as well as legislators — and a broad category that includes writers, artists, entertainers and athletes. Among men, the tallest are, again, public officials, who share that distinction with sales representatives.

The tallest (and heaviest) occupations for women....

....MUCH MORE

*If interested see: 

"Climate Change Caused Angry Runts" 

 

Climate: Meet the NYU, WEF Associated Bioethicist Who Wants To Genetically Modify Humans To Induce Meat Intolerance 

.....there  are five ways he thinks humans could change ourselves to fight climate change:

1. Cat Eyes

Yes, engineering our eyes to be more like cat eyes and get rid of the need for lighting. “Cats can see just as well as we can during the day,” says Liao. “But they can see about seven times better than we can at night. This could totally affect our consumption of energy. I mean think of that. Who wouldn’t want to see better…and see just as well during the day?”

2. Pharmacological induction of empathy

Taking a pill that helps us feel more empathy for the rest of the world’s residents, so we think twice the next time we’re about to create waste.

3. Hobbit people

Screening embryos so that we have smaller babies. Why will that help us fight climate change? Liao says smaller people use less resources. “We need more fabric to clothe them, and it takes more energy to transport them,” he says. “Add all that up. This could impact our consumption of food, the production of the vehicles and buildings we use, and even the energy to heat those buildings. Liao says as a species we’re taller than we have ever been, and that we don’t actually need to be. So we should use our selective powers to stay short.....