 Sept 3, 2008
Edward Tilley There are three primary reasons why kids are growing bigger than parents today. Two of these reasons you might have guessed without too much thought - but the third may come as a chilling revelation. First, there is nutrition. Kids today in most first world settings have ample access to nutritious foods; and at every age in a person's development. We know more about prenatal nutrition than at any point in our past - and the birth size of our infants is growing at a fairly amazing rate - again, in most north-american homes, that is to say. Perhaps the statistics of increased cesarean sections reinforce the sheer surprise of our bodies as one generation is challenged to bear the burden of 30 to 50% larger infants than occurred in past generations. The second reason for increased size, can likely be found in our food supply. Modern farming is a business; aimed at profitability via mass production. A 50% larger product that thrives on 20% less food or nutrients and that doesn't succumb to diseases found in less expensive, less sterile farming environments - is an ideal recipe for success in farming. The road to apple size strawberries and 90% viable apple orchards requires complex, man-made environments - made possible only through genetic engineering, steroids, antibiotics, and pesticides. These substances make their way where? Yup - onto our dinner plates - of course. So that each morning, afternoon, and evening, the average family can look forward to a well rounded meal representing each of the 4 major food "productivity" groups - and then maybe the 4 major food groups as well. The steroids in fast food meats are probably enough to give growing kids an edge up during their important growth cycles - but there is a significant downside to both antibiotics and steroids during non-growth cycles. Its feared that the use of antibiotics in dairy, meat, and poultry animals will eventually lead to a superbug capable of ravaging a human population whose diseases have evolved to become immune to traditional antibiotics. The third cause of increasing size may come as something of a revelation to you - I know it did to me. As I turn to my 13 year old son, who's size 12 shoes and inch taller silhouette towers above, it occurs to me that he has much in common with mammals from another time; from another age to be more specific. Not Cretaceous nor Jurassic Age, but from the ice age. In plain fact, many kids today are exhibiting the natural tendency of mammals exposed to plentiful food sources and cooler temperatures - they are growing in size. The cooler climbs are not provided by an ice age, as they were in ancient times, but rather from air conditioning systems which keep maximum temperatures low throughout the year in many of our homes. Air conditioners ensure that our bodies don't have to diminish to cope. Have you never watched a soccer game and wondered at the different proportions of the Danish, German, or Scottish players as they battled Argentina or Bolivia? Why did the Norseman tower over Spaniards in ancient times. It wasn't diet - and it certainly wasn't steroids. It was cold - and the nature of mammals to defend themselves against the cold by growing in size.  Increasing body size makes exposed skin surfaces smaller in proportion to mass and, therefore, easier to keep warm.
Want to see an obvious example? Check out the Giant Ice Age Beaver - a not so distant cousin of the modern beaver. The Giant Beaver is similar in almost every way - except that its 20 times larger... Bet you never thought that an air conditioner could boost the size of your children ... now did you?
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