The Average Height for Men, and What It Means for Men’s Health

The average height for men in the United States is 5 feet 9 inches. That number continues to change based on ethnicity, genetics and other factors. Non-Hispanic Black men in the U.S., for example, are, on average, 5 feet 9.3 inches tall, while Mexican-American men are, on average, 5 feet 6.9 inches tall.

The average height of men changes around the world according to data pulled from 2,181 population-based studies with 65 million participants in 200 countries from the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration:

• Men in the Netherlands have the tallest average height at 183.8 centimeters (72.36 inches or 6 feet and 0.4 inches).
• Men in Timor-Leste have the shortest average height at 160.1 centimeters (63.03 inches or 5 feet 3 inches).

And average heights for men vary based on country and region:

• Australia: 5 feet 10 inches.
• Canada: 5 feet 10 inches.
• United Kingdom: 5 feet 10 inches.
• Jamaica: 5 feet 10 inches.
• China: 5 feet 9 inches.
• South Korea: 5 feet 9 inches.
• Brazil: 5 feet 9 inches.
• Fiji: 5 feet 8 inches.
• Egypt: 5 feet 8 inches.
• Kenya: 5 feet 7 inches.
• Mexico: 5 feet 7 inches.
• Afghanistan: 5 feet 6 inches.
• India: 5 feet 5 inches.
• Cambodia: 5 feet 5 inches.
• Indonesia: 5 feet 5 inches.
• Peru: 5 feet 5 inches.

These measurements are often used to help researchers and scientists track trends related to human growth. It also allows for the assessment of a population’s health risks and other factors related to their socioeconomic status, environmental health and nutritional impact. These are just averages and should never be considered the ideal height for achievement.

That said, height does play an important role in men’s health and development. Family medicine specialist Jeffrey Brown, DO, explains the importance of height and where these numbers become most impactful.

What factors influence height?

Your height is mostly driven by genetics. Think about your eye color, skin color, the way your body hair grows (or doesn’t grow) — these are all hereditary traits in your DNA that are passed down to you from your biological parents who got those same traits from their parents and their ancestors before them. So, if tall stature tends to run in your family, you have a higher likelihood that you’ll also have a taller stature.

Other factors that can impact your height include:

• Nutrition: Our bodies need nutrients to survive. These are perhaps most important during our earliest years of life and when we’re still developing as young children and adolescents. Studies show that deficiencies in minerals, like zinc and iron, and malnutrition can impact a person’s ability to grow to their true height potential based on their genetics.
• Medical conditions: Hundreds of genetic conditions can also affect your ability to have a taller or shorter stature and impact the way your body grows and develops.

Types of medical conditions and causes

Gigantism (pediatric acromegaly or pituitary gigantism), for example, can result in someone having a taller stature and has several causes, including:

• Pituitary adenoma, a noncancerous tumor on your pituitary gland.
• McCune-Albright syndrome, a genetic condition often caused by pituitary gland enlargement (hyperplasia) that affects your bones, skin and endocrine system.
• Neurofibromatosis, a genetic condition caused by abnormal increases in cell growth and the formation of tumors all over your body that can secrete excess growth hormones.

Dwarfism (skeletal dysplasia), on the other hand, may result in someone having a shorter stature and can be caused by other underlying medical conditions like:

• Growth hormone deficiency, a rare and treatable condition that results from a genetic mutation or damage to your pituitary gland.
• Achondroplasia, a genetic disorder that causes shorter bone development in your arms and legs.
• Intrauterine growth restriction (fetal growth restriction) occurs when a fetus is smaller than expected for its gestational age. This can occur as a result of a birthing parent having an autoimmune condition, kidney disease, diabetes or other infections, and other underlying health conditions.

Can you make yourself taller?

Limb lengthening surgery can adjust someone’s stature so they become taller. But this procedure is quite expensive and most often, reserved as a treatment option for people who have conditions that impact growth and development like:

• Skeletal dysplasia.
• Cerebral palsy.
• Growth plate fractures.
• Osteomyelitis.
• Hemihyperplasia.

If height and growth potential are important to you and your family, focusing on supporting early childhood and adolescent development is key in a few different areas like:

• Supporting the health of the birthing parent.
• Supplying newborns with adequate nutrition.
• Giving your children healthy, well-balanced nutritional meals full of vitamins, minerals, fruits, vegetables and high-quality proteins.
• Promoting playtime activities and physical, team-building exercises several days a week.
• Having regular check-ups with your pediatrician to make sure your children are hitting their developmental milestones.

Another thing to note is that as we age, our height tends to decline the more we lose muscle mass and bone density. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 2015 to 2018, the average height of men started to decline at age 40 and then sharply declined at 70 and older.

Although it’s natural to lose some bone density and muscle mass with age, embracing a healthy lifestyle can help minimize that loss and prevent other bone-weakening diseases like osteoporosis.

“The good thing about our bodies is that they are remarkably resilient,” says Dr. Brown. “No matter what your height, weight or other conditions, your genes are programmed to improve your health when you do the things that prompt them. Yes, it takes a little longer as you get older, but it’s never too late to start.”

Your height and health

Diseases and underlying medical conditions affect people of different sexes in different ways. And when it comes to things like your height, weight, heart rate, blood pressure and other measurements about your individual body, there are a lot of factors that inform your level of risk for certain conditions.

But how might height specifically play a role in some of these situations?

Well, we know that height may play some small part in increasing your risk of prostate cancer because of an inherited genetic link. In a 2008 study of nearly 8,000 British men between the ages of 50 and 69, researchers found that taller men had higher chances of getting prostate cancer. A similar study from 2017 found that men who were taller than 5 feet 10 inches were 22% more likely to get a high-grade prostate cancer than men shorter than 5 feet 8 inches.

Other findings have shown similar results when it comes to the brain. Taller stature has been associated with a decreased likelihood of stroke, as well as a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease — of which there are several hereditary factors.

All of this is to say that height is just one small determining factor that impacts your overall health and wellness. Alone, it may seem like just another number that you can’t do much about. But when you consider it is a unique genetic identifier alongside several other qualities that make you who you are, you can start to understand what elements of your genetics impact your risk factors.

“When it comes to living a long and healthy life, the simplest and most impactful thing we can do is have regular health screenings, no matter what your height or age,” advises Dr. Brown. “These screenings can catch conditions before they happen, especially if you have a family history of a particular disease.”