In the last century, the tallest and healthiest people on Earth were the North American Plains Indians. These are the conclusions reached by American researchers. Proper nutrition, which was inaccessible to whites familiar with the benefits of civilization, helped them withstand the most severe stress.
The average height of North American Plains Indians in the 19th century was the highest on earth among other populations studied at that time. This is evidenced by the results of a study conducted by Richard Steckel of the University of Ohio and Joseph Prince of the University of Tennessee. They used the data collected by Franz Boas in the second half of the nineteenth century. He measured the height and anthropological data of 1,123 American Indians from 8 tribes, including the Chen, Sioux, Blackfeet and Comanches. The average height of men - natives of the North American plains was 172.6 centimeters (Australian aborigines then had an average height of 172 centimeters, European Americans - 171 centimeters and Europeans - below 170 centimeters). But tall stature is not the most interesting feature of the Indians. According to Boas,they were distinguished by an enviable ability to adapt to the conditions of extreme stress, which the Indians found themselves in the century before last. Indeed, in order to grow so tall, they had to be very healthy for the most part. Stekel explains these facts by the influence of several factors at once: a varied diet, the presence of a large amount of plant products in the diet, life in large areas, as well as the active care of the tribe for relatives in trouble. “They developed a healthy lifestyle for themselves that white America could not follow, even with all its technological advantages,” Steckel says.they should have been very healthy for the most part. Stekel explains these facts by the influence of several factors at once: a varied diet, the presence of a large amount of plant products in the diet, life in large areas, as well as the active care of the tribe for relatives in trouble. “They developed a healthy lifestyle for themselves that white America could not follow, even with all its technological advantages,” Steckel says.they should have been very healthy for the most part. Stekel explains these facts by the influence of several factors at once: a varied diet, the presence of a large amount of plant products in the diet, life in large areas, as well as the active care of the tribe for relatives in trouble. “They developed a healthy lifestyle for themselves that white America could not follow, even with all its technological advantages,” Steckel says.even with all its technological advantages,”Steckel says.even with all its technological advantages,”Steckel says.