The diet to be higher: more phosphorus and nitrogen
What do we need to grow and be taller than our parents and grandparents? Until now it was thought that genetic inheritance was responsible for the height of people, especially the one received from the mother, but a recent study has revealed that the consumption of some foods such as red meat, fish, milk, fruits, lentils, cheeses, seafood, wheat germ or sunflower seeds ... contain the chemical components essential for growth. All these foods have a common denominator and that is that they are rich in phosphorus and nitrogen.
This is the result of an investigation carried out by a team of researchers from CREAF in Barcelona, whose conclusions have been published in the journal Scientific Reports. Among the most noteworthy highlights that there is a difference of 23 centimeters on average in the height of people from countries with a higher GDP and those who have it lower.
In the podium of the height, Denmark and the Netherlands are in the first position, with an average of 1.83 meters high, while Guatemala and Vietnam, whose population measures 1.60 meters would be in the lowest step. In total, the difference in height between people in rich and poor countries has increased 1.5 centimeters in the last 30 years.
The diet to be higher
The researchers argue that both phosphorus as nitrogen are differential nutritional elements in the population growth. It is not about eating much, but about doing it well and varied, that is, the diet must be proportionate and depends more on the quality than on the amount of food.
* Height is not a neutral feature. Science has shown that it is related to health and life expectancy. Therefore, if we want to eliminate the differences between rich and poor countries in terms of height, but also in terms of health, we must take into account the amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus that they receive through feeding*, explains Jordi Sardans, researcher at the Center for Ecological Research and Forest Applications of Catalonia (CREAF).
Regarding the obtaining of phosphorus in the diet, it should be noted that countries located in tropical zones, as is the case in many developing countries, have it more difficult because their soils are poor in this mineral. * Unfortunately, everything indicates that the differences in quantity and quality of the diet between rich and poor countries will continue to increase and will have consequences on the growth rate *, laments Josep Peñuelas, one of the authors of the study.
On the other hand, people in developed countries have more possibilities of obtaining a varied diet with greater proportion of foods of animal origin that of vegetable products, which makes them receive a greater amount of nitrogen and phosphorus and also have a higher proportion of both chemical compounds.
The richer a diet in nitrogen and phosphorus, associated with a higher standard of living in rich countries, the more likely that the population that ingests them is higher. In fact, its greater or lesser consumption is what It divides the world into ups and downs. Or, which is the same, the poorer, the smaller. And vice versa. This explains why the former are getting higher, while the latter remain stagnant.
Foods rich in nitrogen
The foods that contain more nitrogen are red meats, fish, greengrocers, cereals, legumes in general, flours, lentils, tuna ...
Foods that contain phosphorus
The foods richest in phosphorus are cheeses, sardines, seafood, chocolate, egg, egg yolk, yogurt, meats, wheat germ, milk powder, sunflower seeds ...
Differences between highs and lows in the world
Researchers have used thousands of data from 80 countries from various sources, including the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and university databases, of adult males born between the 60s, 70s and 80s. Good part The information comes from the sizing of military service.
The average height of men varies a lot between countries and this is motivated in the first place by historical factors of adaptation to climate or altitude. However, the study has observed that at present the height of people is also related to the level of income. On average, it highlights the work of CREAF, there is a difference of 23 centimeters between the countries with the highest people (Denmark and the Netherlands, with an average of 1.83 meters of height) and the countries with the lowest population (Guatemala and Vietnam, with an average of 1.60). In the chapter of the highs also include Germans, Swedes and Canadians, while in the queue also include Madagascar, Cambodia and Bangladesh.
The most striking, however, is that in the last 30 years these differences have widened in 1.5 centimeters: While the rich are getting taller, the poorest have not changed. "Even the Maasai, a people with very tall men, have not increased their height," the first signatory of the study, Josep Peñuelas, a CSIC researcher at CREAF, told this newspaper. The same happens with the Senegalese. Among the countries whose population has grown the most in height, Japan and Iran.
Marisol Nuevo Espín
