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Vivienne Chow

It seems Chinese are similar in height to westerners, on average, and the only difference is in the girth.
That's according to a nationwide survey that has found Chinese share a similar average height compared with their western counterparts but are slimmer; and southern Chinese people were in general 5cm  shorter than northerners.
Alvanon,  a Hong Kong-based company specialising in size and fit for the apparel industry, said clothing should be more tailored to fit Chinese bodies.
The survey, which provided images to illustrate its findings (pictured right), collected data from 12,000 males and 17,000 females aged between 15 and 60 in nine major cities on the mainland by having their bodies scanned at shops.
It discovered that the average height of a Chinese female was  162cm and the weight was   57kg. The average chest measurement was  79cm and the waist was  71cm.
Compared with the US figures, the average height was the same, but rest of the  measurements were much bigger - weight was at  70kg; chest  94cm and waist  86cm.
The average Chinese male was  173cm tall, just 2.5cm shorter than men in the US. They have an average weight of  66kg;  89cm for the chest and  79cm for the waist. Again, the figures were much higher for men in the US around the girth - weight  87kg, chest 104cm and waist  94cm.
There's also a regional difference in the mainland. Southerners were  5cm shorter than the average, while northerners were taller.
Based on the results, Alvanon's chief operating officer Jason Wang said global  retailers 'can consider developing new fits for China specifically targeted at their different body shape and size ...  to fit the range of Chinese bodies'.
If that's the case, retailers may in the future sell clothes in smaller sizes in shops located in the south while those with bigger frames may find it easier to buy clothes that fit from stores in the north. It is important to know that such data for Hongkongers was not measured  in the studies, which means that size 40 or bigger might still be available in the near future.



Here's a tall story: study finds Chinese are similar in height to westerners