Greek young men grow taller.

Aim: To examine whether a secular trend for greater height is still observed in young Greek men. Method: Height and weight of 3982 Greek conscripts, aged 18–26 years, were measured and correlated with the level of education and place of residence. Our data were collected from May 2006 to May 2007 from pre-selected army camps all over Greece. The data were compared with those of a similar study performed in 1990. Results: Mean height (±SD) of the conscripts was 178.06 (±7.05) cm. From 1990 until 2006, mean height increased from 175.7 cm to 178.06 cm (p < 0.001), corresponding to 1.47 cm/decade. Height was positively correlated with the place of residence (p = 0.007) and the level of education (p < 0.001) of the conscripts. Conclusions: Our data show a further increase in the stature of young Greek men in the last 16 years. It appears that the male Greek population has still not exhausted its growth potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]