What makes us tall? Quest for height genes takes a big step up
It's no secret that if your dad is tall and your mother is tall, you are probably going to be tall. But fully understanding the genetics of height has been a stretch for scientists.
It's no secret that if your dad is tall and your mother is tall, you are probably going to be tall. But fully understanding the genetics of height has been a stretch for scientists.
Researchers on Sunday unveiled what they called the biggest such study to date, analysing genome data from more than a quarter of a million people to identify nearly 700 genetic variants and more than 400 genome regions relating to height.
How tall or short a person becomes is estimated to be 80 per cent genetic, with nutrition and other environmental factors accounting for the rest. The world's people on average have become taller over the past few generations because of factors including improved nutrition.
"For over 100 years, it's been a great model for studying the genetics of diseases like obesity, diabetes, asthma that are also caused by the combined influence of many genes acting together. So by understanding how the genetics of height works, we can understand how the genetics of human disease works," he said.
In addition, short stature in childhood is a major clinical issue for paediatric endocrinologists. Knowing genes and their variants which are important for height may eventually help doctors diagnose children who have a single major underlying cause for short stature, Hirschhorn added.