Height of China’s Growth Story
中国的增长故事：身高
A recent report in the medical journal Lancet says Chinese people have been gaining height in the past 30 years. The report says the average height of 19-year-old Chinese males is 175.7 cm, making them the fifth tallest in Asia and the tallest in East Asia; the average height of Chinese females is 163.5 cm, the tallest in the region.
医学杂志《柳叶刀》近期一份报告指出，中国人在过去30年里一直在长高。报告称，中国19岁男性的平均身高为175.7厘米，为亚洲第五、东亚第一；中国女性的平均身高为163.5厘米，为该地区最高。
More importantly, from 1985 to 2019, the average height of Chinese males saw the biggest rise among all the 200 countries and regions surveyed, while that of women ranked third.
更重要的是，从1985年到2019年，在200个国家和地区的调查中显示，中国男性的平均身高增幅最大，而女性增幅排名第三。
In every aspect, the Chinese people’s height has risen tremendously in the past four decades. During the same period, China’s economy prospered and the average Chinese person’s income rose.
在各个方面，中国人的身高在过去的四十年里都有了极大的提高。与此同时，中国经济繁荣，人均收入增加。
It is increasingly improving nutrition standards because of constantly rising incomes that has led to this rise in height. The Lancet report offers no analysis, but it is widely believed that milk, with its good calcium content, boosts bone growth, promoting height.
由于收入不断增加，营养水平也不断提高，致使身高增长。《柳叶刀》的报告没有对此进行分析，但人们普遍认为是所含丰富钙质的牛奶促进了骨骼发育，促使长高。
In 1978, the nationwide milk production was just 883,000 metric tons, and its consumption a luxury for many. In 2018, nationwide milk production rose to 30.75 million tons and consumption of milk, eggs, meat, fresh vegetables and seafood have all gone up, becoming ingredients in Chinese people’s height growth story.
1978年，全国牛奶产量仅为88.3万吨，对很多人来说这种高消费极为奢侈。2018年，全国牛奶产量增加到3075万吨，牛奶、鸡蛋、肉类、新鲜蔬菜以及海鲜的消费量都有大幅度的提高，这成为中国人平均身高增长的重要原因。
