--- description: Nearly 700 gene variants linked to height have been identified title: New Study Sheds Light on Human Height image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Genetics](/tag/genetics/) ## Genetics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New Study Makes Great Strides in Understanding Human Height  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 5, 2014 8:15 PM CUT  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 5, 2014 8:15 PM CUT What makes tall people tall and short people short is becoming less of a mystery to scientists. An international team of researchers has identified [nearly 700 gene variants](http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/05/science-height-idINKCN0HU0QU20141005 "undefined") in more than 400 gene regions that are connected to height — an estimated 20 percent of all the gene variants that play a role in determining one’s size. The findings of the study were published in the journal _Nature Genetics_, Reuters reports. It is believed to be the biggest study of its kind to date. Scientists believe that about 80 percent of a person’s height is hereditarily determined, with environmental factors such as nutrition determining the rest. The average height of humans around the world has risen throughout the last few generations as world nutrition generally improves. Researchers studied the genomes of 253,288 people from Europe, North America and Australia, all with European ancestry and found 424 gene regions with 697 gene variants that are linked to height. Many of the genes identified were not previously known to have an effect on skeletal growth. “For over 100 years, \[height has\] 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,” Dr. Joel Hirschhorn, a pediatric endocrinologist and geneticist at Boston Children’s Hospital and [the Broad Institute](https://www.broadinstitute.org/ "undefined"). “So by understanding how the genetics of height works, we can understand how the genetics of human disease works.” \[[_Reuters_](http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/05/science-height-idINKCN0HU0QU20141005 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3472147/study-human-height-genetics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3472147/study-human-height-genetics/"},"headline":"New Study Makes Great Strides in Understanding Human Height","datePublished":"2014-10-05T20:15:18.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:35:57.319Z","description":"Nearly 700 gene variants linked to height have been identified","url":"https://time.com/3472147/study-human-height-genetics/","keywords":["Genetics","Disease","Science topic","health"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/genetics/","name":"Genetics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3472147/study-human-height-genetics/","name":"New Study Makes Great Strides in Understanding Human Height"}}]}] ```