Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Tall and not so Tall Women of India

New studies are increasingly appearing based on historical data across the world that better socio-economic status is associated with taller men and women. This study based on a recent Indian data analyses the variations in height among adult women. The main findings show that regional level differences in mean heights are prominent and contiguous regions show similar mean heights after controlling for socio-economic differences. Women from weaker socio-economic groups are shorter and so are women in rural areas though the rural-urban gap disappears after controlling for socio-economic variations. Women who have had at least one child during teenage have lower average heights but this difference is not statistically significant once differences in education are accounted for.