Did sexual selection and culture interact in the evolution of human height?

Abstract

Human height is a quantitative trait influenced by genetics and environmental conditions. Historical records from several European nations show a rapid increase in average population heights during the 19th century. Improvements in nutrition and public health are known contributors to this increase, but, theoretically, evolutionary selection may have also played a role. Women prefer taller mates, and sexual selection for height has likely contributed to evolutionary changes in human height. However, cultural restrictions on mate selection freedom prior to the 19th century may have blunted the effects of this mate preference. We hypothesized that a shift toward gender equality in 19th century Sweden increased mate selection freedom for women and amplified sexual selection for height. A mathematical model supported environmental factors as the main force driving population height change, and suggested a limited role for sexual selection. More generally, the model provides a framework for studying interactions between cultural change and evolutionary selection mechanisms.

High intrasexual competition is related to inflated height reports in male junior soccer players

“…Several lines of evidence suggest that height preference in humans is rooted in the signaling value of human stature. Adult height is the result of complex interactions between genetic factors and environmental conditions (Gahtan & Mark, 2013;Gustafsson & Lindenfors, 2009;Lango Allen et al, 2010;Lettre, 2011), and thus, it has been proposed as a good indicator of good health, status and cognitive abilities (Case & Paxson, 2006;Judge & Cable, 2004;Silventoinen, Lahelma, & Rahkonen, 1999; but see also Samaras, 2012). Human height has also been found to be negatively related to fluctuating asymmetry, which results from perturbations of the ontogenetic development, thus human height has also been considered as a proxy for good genes (Manning, 1995).…”