Is it the water in the Dinaric Alps or something else?

Pojam "dinarski gigantizam" najčešće se odnosi na fenotipsku pojavu izrazito visoke tjelesne visine karakteristične za stanovništvo dinarskog područja (Hrvatska, BiH, Crna Gora), dok se haplogrupa I2 (često nazivana dinarskom, specifično I2a-CTS10228) smatra genetskim markerom koji je visoko zastupljen kod tog istog stanovništva.

Ovdje su ključne poveznice: Dinarski fenotip (Gigantizam): Stanovnici dinarskih planina (Dinaridi) povijesno su zabilježeni kao jedni od najviših ljudi na svijetu. To je kombinacija genetike, prehrane i okoliša.

Haplogrupa I2 (I-M423 / I2a1b): Ovo je dominantna Y-DNA haplogrupa među južnim Slavenima, posebno u Hrvatskoj, BiH, Srbiji i Crnoj Gori. Povezanost: Iako visina ovisi o stotinama gena, visoka frekvencija haplogrupe I2a u regiji s najvišim ljudima (Dinaridi) navodi na zaključak da je ta haplogrupa povezana s nositeljima gena za visoki rast u ovom području.

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Fine-Ear-8103@reddit

They’re delusional 😭 Kosovo has the same average height as them but is completely Ev-13, j2b, and R1b. A little genetics and good nutrition is all.

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

3.5 cm on avg is not the same when talking averages :)

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No_Designer_8203@reddit

Of course they do

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

Hmm mine is E-V13, 190cm. So what does this mean when conpared to I2?

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Sreka17@reddit

Mine too. We are serbianised pre slavic population bro, probably in the balkans since the Neolithic

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

Albanians?

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Sreka17@reddit

It's more precise to say that us and some present day albanians have common ancestors from couple thousand years ago

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

I was just trying to mess with you, i know haplos aren't equal to nationality

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Sreka17@reddit

Present Croats, Serbs, Bosniaks and Montenegrins are technically same ethnic group, consisting of descendants of various slavic tribes intermixed with pre slavic romanized population such as illyrians and vlachs and who knows what. Religion is only differential factor, if one of the religions prevailed historically today we would be of the same "nation". In my opinion ancient Slavs weren't that numerous in this admixture, so it's unclear how we got to speak the csbh language in its present form.

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

They actually were, the region got decimated by Justinan plague when Slavs started settling. Thats why we are kinda 50/50 60/40 40/60 mixed

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treba_dzemper@reddit

Figures are actually highest in Bosnia. It's 70/30 on average, and about 80/20 in central & southern Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro and central Dalmatia.

Even Croatian Islands are for most of them like 80% Slavic despite italinaized language and centuries of Greek and Roman presence on them.

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

Cool. I can roll with that. :)

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

Your forefather fucked daughters of I2.

There, resolved

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WorldClassChef@reddit

According to moronic Serbian ultranationalists, you’re a North African.

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

Lmao funny you said that one of my brethren was just telling me something like that. 😂😂😂

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No_Designer_8203@reddit

So is mine, I'm 188. I bet you look like a typical dinaroid, just like me - haplogroup I2. Right?

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

So I did a deep dive into this last night. I’m actually haplogroup E-V13.

Spot on with the Dinaric look, all the men on my dad’s side have that same nose lol. But remember, haplogroups only trace one single grandfather's line, not our overall genetics. E-V13 represents the ancient native highlanders of the Balkans, and I2 represents the Slavs who arrived later.

Since both groups mixed together in the Dinaric Alps for over a thousand years, we both get that same tall Dinaric phenotype from the overall regional gene pool, regardless of which specific haplogroup we carry. That’s at least how I understood it.

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No_Designer_8203@reddit

Haplogroup E originated in Africa, most Africans (subsahran and north) carry it and they're not very tall. It's the dinaric haplogroup that is tall - haplogroup I2.

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

Man I'm no expert, but everything I've read says height has absolutely nothing to do with your haplogroup.

Height is a mix of all your ancestors (autosomal). Also, the parent 'E' group is ancient, but E-V13 has been strictly European for like 7,000+ years. The Dinaric height just comes from everyone mixing in the mountains for centuries, not from one specific male line.

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Stari_vujadin@reddit

Your own Y-haplogroup on its own doesn't have anything to do with hight. Haplogroups are useful to determine ancestry of entire populations, on individual level they're no more than a fan fact. Sure you can now directly trace your male lineage to some very distant specific ancestor, but you also have hundreds if not thousands of other ancestors contributing to your genetics.

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

I just replied to the other guy. That’s exactly how I understood it from what I was reading about yesterday.

Equating one specific haplogroup to the Dinaroid look doesn't make sense. The original E-V13 natives and the incoming I2 Slavs completely mixed in the mountains over a thousand years ago. We're all pulling from the exact same tall genetic pool now.

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n_o_r_s_e@reddit

They probably just forgot to take off their shoes before measuring 👞

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Ok_Entrepreneur_6521@reddit

Northern albanians are generally much taller than southerners too

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NoRooster6367@reddit

They have Serbian admixture

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Ok_Entrepreneur_6521@reddit

Southerners have more greek admixture than northerners have serbian.

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neckke@reddit

Yea 80% of my great great ancestors were from “Malesija”, they migrated to the “Novopazarski Sanjak” in the 17 centry and were assimilated there.

My dads family tree goes back to the montenegrian tribes and guess what, im 196 cm 😂

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St_Ascalon@reddit

I'm 184 i feel tall but i'm not towering everyone. 172 sounds bs. However turkey is a very large country, perhaps some cities in the east are lowering the average.

Bosniaks are really tall tho I live in an area of Istanbul where Bosniaks live; they are generally my height or way taller.

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scanfash@reddit

Same for me in Greece at 185+, I suspect it’s due to our older generations being significantly shorter than young ones, though turkey doesn’t have the same demographic imbalance as Greece does so not sure it would affect as drastically especially considering that turkeys avg. is even lower on this. I feel like the “rural” Kurds in the east might bring down the average height quite a bit as well thought is just going off my observations of people hailing from these regions in Western Europe

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NoRooster6367@reddit

In Serbia, up untill the 70's, meat was eaten only in winter, or during holidays, so those generations grew up on mostly dairy and plant based foods.

As meat consumption became daily, height increased dramatically. For example, my grandfather was 184 cm, my father 198 cm, and im 206 cm. My maternal grandfather was 180 cm, and my uncle ended up 200 cm.

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inki471@reddit

There is absolutely a huge difference between the older and younger generations here too. Also, here’s a map I found that supports your observations.

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Hopeful_Addition7834@reddit

I join in here about Hungary.

I am 190 cm, and there are some young men my height or even way taller, but MANY people are as tall or shorter than my armpit, especially in rural places.

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scanfash@reddit

Yeah same, minus the rural divide, I do not find young rural people in Greece to be significantly shorter than their urban counterparts tbh, only the older generations but those are generally short in urban environments as well

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GodsDick31@reddit

172 is bullshit. We are not a tall country but definetely that short neither.

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Brain32@reddit

I'm 177cm but really and barefoot, when I was in Istanbul I'd say I was about average however there were nowhere near as many outliers like in Croatia. I think a larger percentage of really tall people can skew the statistics away from your average perception. In Croatia it's not unusual to see somebody over 200cm anymore but like 80% of people are 175-185. I think people have a problem with seeing really tall people and that creates an impact on their mental state so they feel "everybody" is towering over them while in fact that's not really the case. I played basketball for like 20 years so I have no issues with it...

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technotronica@reddit

LOL. I'm 184 and never felt tall. My male cousins are like 2 m and females are the same height as me.

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No-Specialist-1435@reddit

Come on dude, I am 183 from Bosnia and I felt like a giant i Istanbul

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RomuloMalkon68@reddit

Maybe in Istanbul people are taller considering Istanbul is a mix of all kinds of people throughout history. How are people from other parts of Turkey? Like eastern, central.

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No-Heart3432@reddit

I'm living mid part. 187.

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St_Ascalon@reddit

Population of Istanbul is mix of every part of Turkey. That's why I think it's a good example. My guess is the average would be between 174 and 76.

I lived in Tekirdağ and Bursa outside of Istanbul, and it wasn't much different there. According to what I've check online, shortest people are from Eastern Black Sea region, such as Trabzon and Rize.

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tomatos_raafatos@reddit

It also has to do with age. Older generations there are generally shorter mainly due to worse nutrition in their childhood than the younger ones (afaik)

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TheEagle74m@reddit

Being 193 cm, I always wonder how others shorter feel when next to me. I had a chance to be next to someone taller than me and it was weird 😂😂🙈🙈

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

I don't know about the others but I'm a 183 cm tall guy who kept his "short guy" mentality. I was always around the shorter guys in school. I was 167 cm in 8th grade, by 12th I was 180 so maybe I just grew up with being short and now I don't do well in places where most guys are shorter than me. I feel like a clumsy Big Bird around them so not surprisingly I don't have many friends who are shorter even though ofc I don't choose my friends by height.

With women I like all sizes but when a hot female coworker started wearing very high heels and was suddenly around my height I started finding her even more attractive. Yep, definitely kept some of the short guy mentality in me because here they go for women their height or taller and tall guys go for the petite women. ;)

Short guys make me feel clumsy and to me that's an even worse feeling than having to act up more in a friend group of taller guys to overcompensate for my shorter statue. Maybe I like embracing my inner Napoleon complex lol because I somehow feel more confident around taller people than shorter ones. :D

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NoRooster6367@reddit

Is 183cm considered tall in Bulgaria?

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Discipline_Cautious1@reddit

I am 190 tall and blonde , an average looking Albanian in Tirane.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

I have the notion that from all Balkan nations Albanians probably have the most gingers.

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Machinekalibar@reddit

Not really. Its probably North Croatians and Slovenes. They have unironical german blood (up to 30%)

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Ujemegaz@reddit

Albanians of Scotland.

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Substratas@reddit

I am 190 tall and blonde , an average looking Albanian in Tirane.

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Discipline_Cautious1@reddit

Because every time :

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskBalkans/comments/tqcan4/comment/i2gm2gp/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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Substratas@reddit

https://i.redd.it/z4nl3hkjwzvg1.gif

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Formal-Cup2396@reddit

Wut

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PawsomeBrainiac@reddit

It's just an average. If I alone were 32 km tall, I would increase the average height in Serbia by 1 cm

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Albanian-shz@reddit

Kosovo & Albania with a 3 cm diff

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Infamous_Reporter_71@reddit

In the olden days Bosnians were 320cm tall. They went on to build the pyramids in Egypt and Bosnia also. As time went by they've become shorter. This is mostly due to burek with cheese and a really short coast line.

Source: pu kcuf eht ti edam I

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delerium1state@reddit

And cause eventually they whipped out giants

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DictatorrrofLove@reddit

Judging from Ukraine and Turkey, this map isn’t very accurate lol

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neckke@reddit

I was in turkey, im 195cm tall and i TOWERED over literally every person there:) in the Hagia Sophia Mosque, i prayed in the first row and could clearly see the door from the other side of the mosque, like literally a head or more taller than everybody there.

Turks are short 🤷‍♂️

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DictatorrrofLove@reddit

Don’t take it personally but it’s giving insecurity. Not questioning your experience (even though I think it’s your personal fantasy) but I am 193 and I lived in Turkey for a long while. I can’t confirm your take.

Your self esteem could be higher tho 🤷‍♂️

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neckke@reddit

Not taking it personally lol but its true🤷‍♂️

I mean in my experience, there are turks that are tall but really most of them are avg height like 175

Idk bout you but when i was there(i went 2 times each one for a week) i felt like really really tall.

But in my country there are people taller than me and i dont fell as quite tall, i mean i fell normal, but when i was in turkiye, it was a weird feeling:)

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DictatorrrofLove@reddit

If you repeat it 10 times before bed you might actually trick yourself into believing it.

Thats not how you raise your self esteem tho but you do you ❤️‍🩹

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neckke@reddit

Oooookaaay

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DictatorrrofLove@reddit

☺️

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neckke@reddit

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dvukotic@reddit

copium

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DictatorrrofLove@reddit

Oh sorry I didn’t want to hurt your self esteem ❤️‍🩹

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delerium1state@reddit

Turks imported a lot of genetic material from tall balkans during 500 years of devastation.

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DictatorrrofLove@reddit

I hope you fix the anomaly in your brain that makes you say shit like that. Thoughts and prayers 🙏

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inki471@reddit

It heavily depends on where you are. I’m 187 cm and I don’t that tall at all in where I live which is on the western side of the country but I did actually feel like a tower when I did a tour at Southeastern Anatolia. Older generations are also a LOT shorter compared to younger generations which does have an effect on the statistics.

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Equivalent_Bag_3634@reddit

The smaller the country , and the more isolating the geography of the place it can lead to semi close culture and endogamy. Endogamy is when people intermarry with relatively close kin , that leads to some characteristics tics to become more accentuated and prevalent. In this case it happened to be height. Add to that the tendency of humans to sexually select partners by physical traits and you get Montenegro giants.

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plastic_situation123@reddit

has nothing to do with endogamy. intermarriage is frowned upon even up to the 5th-7th degree and even without religious teachings. high endogamy reduces genetic diversity (which balkans do not lack) and increases the risk of recessive genetic disorders, not beneficial traits like height.

height in the balkans is linked to genetics (Y-DNA lineage), nutrition and historical selection. nutrition unlocked the genetic potential, especially during the 20th-21st century. there's also a theory that historical conditions in the balkans favored taller, more robust individuals, which (if true) could've shifted the average height upward over many generations - not endogamy.

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WSportsBet@reddit

These "polls" are extremely untrue. Men lie (overrate themselves) mostly about 3 things - height, p3nis length, and money. There is no way the average Bosnian is 184... I'm 178 and when I was in Bosnia I was taller than most men. Asking 100 locals isn't really a measure of real men height. All of these maps are complete trash.

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plastic_situation123@reddit

lol turkey around 172cm for men meanwhile i'm 171 and an average female 😭

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1981Jax@reddit

I'm 193 and feel like a giant in Ro.

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Decebalus_Bombadil@reddit

You'd feel like that in most countries with the exception of Holland.

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One_more_drink_@reddit

I felt the same way when I went to a touristy town in the Carpathians, on a weekend I saw only one person of my height and I'm like 188. In the cities I don't feel tall just maybe a little above average.

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EternalyTired@reddit

1.86m high, feeling very avg in Serbia.

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

1.90m here, feeling same. My parents are both from Bosna.

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

Na im 196 and definitely, 190 is not average. My brothet is 192 and he stands out a bit.

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technotronica@reddit

1.84 here. I never ever felt tall... Quite the contrary. Realized I was tall when I moved to a cou try where people are 175 ish.

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RecordIcy5375@reddit

1,86 is certainly not avarage for serbians. In fact i have yet to meet one who is taller than me, and i am 196 cm tall.

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whitelisted_klek505@reddit

193 cm feel the same in Bosnia

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

Turks short kings

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FitRip9086@reddit

I’m 28M, 196cm and Turkish, mind you my dad is 194cm and is in his 60s

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New_Accident_4909@reddit

That is not how statistics work. I am also 196 but my country average is 184 not lov 170s

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FitRip9086@reddit

I’m 28M, 196cm and Turkish, mind you my dad is 194cm and is in his 60s

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Corp-Por@reddit

186cm Slovene blue eyed Aryan here. DMs open for ladies only. Rare exceptions for very handsome femboys.

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Ujemegaz@reddit

You are midget, bro. The shortest here is 250cm, we havw to crawl like toddles in order to get indoors.

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Corp-Por@reddit

Based

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Historical-Wear-9948@reddit

It's because I drank lead water from a well as a kid

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Entire-Classroom-968@reddit

Scandinavian long-time lurker here. I read in the community rules that we aren’t supposed to mention genetics but I think that that’s a large part of it (+ calcium), same with Nordic/Dutch people. I like being among Balkan people for a variety of reasons, and it feels comfortable not being the tallest man in the room (I’m 186cm).

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FitRip9086@reddit

I used to feel tall in Turkey being 186cm, but all my cousins who are teenagers are 190+ now and I’m only 28, in over a decade average height in Istanbul is increasing dramatically.

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David_Aaron_Finck@reddit

I am 180. Was 183 once, but with the age I became smaller.

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FitRip9086@reddit

Do pull ups and dead hangs to reveal your true height, I personally “lost” 3 cm in my mid 20s to bad habits and not working out. And regained it through pull ups and dead hangs.

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deepeddit@reddit

Nope, I would assume it's genes but also quality of diet. The average height has increased drastically in last century, just as life expectancy. I assume that will flatten for western Balkans but east will keep going and equalise, but some genetic differences may continue for long time if we don't get international fucking going. We shouldn't expect going on forever though. Vaccination and neonatal health solved a lot of basic issues but it's getting harder. More protein and better diet in general must have done something for the height but now we're mostly going << >>

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b0sanac@reddit

Well at least we're first in something xD

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Hefty_Jaguar4305@reddit

and circumcised LOL

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mearcliff@reddit

That’s interesting…Albanians for example are not

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Hefty_Jaguar4305@reddit

Kosovo albanian men are circumcised

albanian men are circumcised of muslim family even they are only cultural muslim family.

do not make joke with me

by and block

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Statakaka@reddit

this is a family friendly subreddit

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Hefty_Jaguar4305@reddit

yes and so what?

its part of the culture and religion

if you want to spread anti-religious statemants leave me allone

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technotronica@reddit

Unfortunately.

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Hefty_Jaguar4305@reddit

LOL please.... do not wrote to me Blagodarija

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

gif

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obzovica@reddit

We hunted mammoths

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geizige-vorhaut2289@reddit

We wuz Vinča ‘n shit

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No_Designer_8203@reddit

Well we wuz

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RealShabanella@reddit

True dat

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MirosuArt@reddit

We wuz megafauna hunter-gatherers and shit.

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Particular-Highway89@reddit

Croatia should be higher

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phariom@reddit

Balkaners whenever height is mentioned: "I'm 300 cm and feel average, everyone in my family is taller than me. Btw we are blonde."

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kalac77@reddit

Nope. We just lie. I've been to Austria, those guy's height is above ours.

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Kitchen_Lawyer6041@reddit

IDK mate, usually maps like these are BS.

For example the height difference between Kosovo and Albania is somewhat similar to the one between South and North Korea.

Yes, Albania was very isolated and very poor under Hoax but unless they had a massive hunger or something those numbers don't add up.

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aXeOptic@reddit

They did actually have a lot of food shortages during Hoxhas regime.

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Substratas@reddit

They did actually have a lot of food shortages during Hoxhas regime.

I always thought it’s because Kosovars are more closely related to South Slavs due to intermixing.

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Fine-Ear-8103@reddit

Southern Albanians mixed more with Hellenic populations northern Albanians mixed more with south Slavic ones both due to proximity but the vast majority of our DNA 85%> is the same paleo-Balkan DNA. I would refrain from specifying “kosovars” as intermixing happened at the same levels across the board for north Albanians as a whole. And it seems to have happened in the Middle ages, Tribal Albanian men taking south Slavic women as wives.

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aXeOptic@reddit

I would say the quality of food is the biggest reason since there were famines in Albania. And brother its the balkans were all mixed af cause of wars, migrations, diseases etc.

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Fine-Ear-8103@reddit

Gheg Albanians are taller than Tosk Albanians on average so southern Albania also brings down Albania’s average whereas Kosovo is all Gheg Albanian. This plus some famine and you’ve got a good height difference.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Well, maybe the rocks in the Northern parts of the Dinaric Alps have a different mineral component and hence the rivers in like Bosnia have said minerals in their waters more than the rivers flowing into South Albania and Macedonia?

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Kitchen_Lawyer6041@reddit

It's all about genetics, food quality and healthcare access. All the mineral water in the world won't make a population taller on average.

Getting back to the Kosovo vs Albania part, Yugoslavia was much better off than Albania but it was no West Germany to justify that height difference.Also in the last 20 years Albania was better off than Kosovo.Like I said, the numbers don't add up.

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Fine-Ear-8103@reddit

Do this map over in feet lol you’re gonna have 6 countries with an average of 5’11-6’1. All the same shit

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Comfortable_Cress194@reddit

I think Bulgaria average height is bullshit.I am 180cm and almost everyone is taller that me

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Явно се ограждаш с по-високи хора, защото с моите 182 обикновено се чувствам като исполин в градския транспорт. Или може би по-високите от мен като цяло са по колите, а по-бедните хора в градския са по-ниски.

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0neManSquad@reddit

Tbh, the last time I used public transport was 25 years ago, but I’m a regular at places like the gym, and I’m 180 cm tall and still feel like a midget. Literally every kid aged 15 and up is taller than me. The girls are around my height.

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terra_filius@reddit

you notice only those people who are taller than you

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0neManSquad@reddit

Dude, I dunno what generation you’re from or where you’re living, but I’m too old to notice people based on their physical appearance - height, weight, etc. It’s just that the newer generations are way taller than mine.

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terra_filius@reddit

I am from the early 90s

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Bragging not having used public transport is the most Balkan thing ever.

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0neManSquad@reddit

And thinking that being used to driving because I’m older, accustomed to it, and my job demands it could be considered "the most Balkan thing ever" makes your statement the most Balkan thing ever x2...? This is the first time I’ve heard driving a car considered bragging, btw lol

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Leading-Thanks-1861@reddit

It's the DNA and genetics.

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Am_aBoy@reddit

Am surprised honestly am like cms taller than average height, yet I fell like ppl are sometimes higher than me in Bulgaria

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diegoestoyembarazada@reddit

For accurate measurements of Romanians we'll have to wait a few more years and measure the younger generations. A lot of people that grew up during the communist regime were borderline malnourished by today's standards, and even in comparison with other neighbouring countries at the time.

I'm a 90s kid and most of us are taller than our parents. And it feels like newer generations are growing even taller. I'm 185 and i feel only very slightly above average.

Having travelled to Montenegro, i gotta say though... those guys are mountain giants. I've never seen so many tall people in one place in my entire life, it was insane

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ReasonResitant@reddit

Damn, im 181 and feel average.

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Winter-Speech978@reddit

Its the I2 haplogroup, they are known for tall and slim build. So genetics basically

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Turbulent_Elk8705@reddit

Something doesn't add up. Bulgarians are tall people.

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stone_clock@reddit

I thought I was tall, but I would be of average height in Montenegro and a bit bellow in Bosnia.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

I used to be one of the shortest guys in middle school and highschool (below 170 cm in 8th grade) and by the 12th grade I have grown up really fast to around 180 cm. I grew some more at university. It now feels weird being the tallest or one of the taller guys at 183 cm. Maybe for someone who was always tall it's not a problem and they've had their whole childhood to get used to being tall here.

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stone_clock@reddit

I too was used to be kinda short. I was 14 in 2023 when I got my ID card (as it’s the law here) and my reported height there is 1,64m. However, now in 2026, I’m 16 and 1,83m tall, so yeah, I get you!

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Vanko6000@reddit

When I see this map I always think there's no way greeks are taller than Bulgarians. Those of you who have contacts from both countries like me, what do you think? Or maybe greeks being "rounder" make them appear as shorter to me 😀

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Leshkarenzi@reddit

185 and never felt really tall.

My cousins are either the same height or taller than me

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viderbp@reddit

It's all about Rakia..

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Dependent_Radish8443@reddit

Because we butchered each other for more than millennium and being tall was kinda of a good thing to be

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sasvim_nebitan@reddit

I'm 1.90m and I honestly don't think I'm "above average" in any ex-Yu country

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-ToniCipriani-@reddit

That’s definitely not the case. Pay more attention.

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sasvim_nebitan@reddit

Could be that I'm only noticing people that are taller than me

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KaradjordjevaJeSushi@reddit

Our women are very picky when it comes to choosing best genes.

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RestepcaMahAutoritha@reddit

As a Romanian Im 185cm . However I want to say that in the US (southwestern) I feel a lot taller than I do when I go back to Romania.

It seems to me that Romania has a lot fairly tall people and a lot of really short people, and not a lot in between. But maybe thats just anecdotal observation.

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Itachii47@reddit

196 cm Bosniak here. My grand parents were giants too, my own parents are tiny though.

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Weird_Gap_2243@reddit

I don’t think Turkiye is still 172. It’s like 175-176 nowadays

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Familiar-Custard-216@reddit

Depends on the age of the person

For bulgaria you can track which generation struggled with food the most during their childhood years

For example, my grandads are all above 184, however my dad and uncles are below 175cm. My brother who was born in the 90’s is 172cm, while I who was born in the 2000’s and with way better food access is 183cm

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-ToniCipriani-@reddit

To lose height because of malnutrition you have to be North Korea levels of famine, unless your brother starved for years and in that case he has many other problems, it’s just about what genes you picked up.

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AggravatingAd4758@reddit

Honestly I thinking it’s protein heavy diet

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-ToniCipriani-@reddit

Protein heavy diet doesn’t make you taller. It’s 100% genes and diet is not a problem in Europe.

Sure, in times of famine there might be a prevalence of kids with deficiencies, best example is how South Korean maye be a few cm taller than Northern, but there are definitely other signs of poor nutrition other than heightn.

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Elyay@reddit

A lot of meat and milk/dairy in the diet. I tend to think it is dairy because of all of the growth hormones they put into it.

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Time_Trail@reddit

ts has been true since at least roman times, idt its growth hormones bro

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AndrosAlexios@reddit

Growth hormones? Where did you read this?

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trisul-108@reddit

I think the trend persists even after those were banned in the EU.

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Dry_Raccoon976@reddit

191 bye

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Bro_said@reddit

To the disappointment of wokies, it is called genetics

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averege_guy_kinda@reddit

A lot of meat in the diet

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Substratas@reddit

Spanish people would be towering over the Balkaners had that been the case.

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

Perhaps it’s a combination of genetics and diet.

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Sandoriah@reddit

I was born in Serbia and Im exactly 182cm

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shadowdance55@reddit

Genetics. Even Roman generals praised soldiers from these parts. Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_human_height_by_country

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fishscaling@reddit

That’s because the slavs came from up north different genetics

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low-sikeliot-9062@reddit

In that case east and west slavs would be taller but they are not. It is a unique west Balkan thin. I think the Illyrians were already tall

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volcano156@reddit

Bu we're taller than you
Bulgaria: 174.2 cm
Turkey: 176.4 cm

https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/average-height-by-country

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No-Heart3432@reddit

Serbia 182. When I see that I remember this.

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FloppyDiskDrives@reddit

He looks like he ate two Nikola’s.

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Sopaipilla@reddit

haha longbois

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UnderstandingCool574@reddit

Nice to see that I have the average male height as a female 😅

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Particular-Pass-4021@reddit

I'm 193 and light brown almost blond 😊

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Ganondorf_Dragomir@reddit

Just superior genes compared to the rest of Europe

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low-sikeliot-9062@reddit

I am 2 meter tall and i feel short in Albania

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Ujemegaz@reddit

Arvanites are short.

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CamperKuzey@reddit

Slavs are tall.

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Hefty_Jaguar4305@reddit

for romania its not exactly true...

because in the dobrudja and ada kale the men shorter

https://acad.ro/sectii2002/proceedingsChemistry/doc2008-3/art13Radu.pdf

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MirusTheVirus@reddit

I don't feel that tall as 193 in Serbia.

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vasjpan002@reddit

Well, in Greece, it is Alps are Pindus aka Metsovan. But in higher altitude, more UV light produces more vitamin D, in turn stimulates calcium ion channels. But in certain mountains, clouds reduce this.

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Justanotherbastard2@reddit

Quite interesting that the shortest ones ended up being the ones in charge for so long.

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delerium1state@reddit

Legendary oftsung Balkan tales speak of giants and their mixing with smaller humans, as well as of graves in which giants sleep.

Numerous bones have also been digget out, as witnessed over the decades by the local population. They were taken away to an unknown location, and no one knows what happened to them. The highest prevalence was in the Dinaric region.”

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casual_philosopher02@reddit

It is the meat, with the power of meat I became 176 pure muscle 💪

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Additional-Gur7915@reddit

It is proten. Their diet consists more of dairy, which is proven to make populations taller.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

Afaik dairy is very common in Turkish cusisine.

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Additional-Gur7915@reddit

"Very common" is not enough.

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Third_Rate_Duelist_@reddit

It's because they vloser to the Netherlands

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Hopeful_Addition7834@reddit

If I may go offtopic with some questions about Balkan women:

And why are many Balkanic women small/petite?

I don't yet have enough input to judge a general view of that, but I sure saw multiple Balkan couples where the guy is possibly twice the weight of the woman.

Don't women eat "Mediterranean" to be bigger, like in Spain for example? Or is it a social expectation for women to be petite, or at least slim if they are tall?

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Live-Role7096@reddit

Dinarid Women (Montenegrin, Bosniak, Serb) arent petite.😂😂😂 They have pretty strong build. Might be Greek, Albanian or Macedonian women who are petite tho

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Hopeful_Addition7834@reddit

What do you mean?

Honestly, I really like Latinas, and am a bit sad that they are almost always short. I thought Balkan women are almost petiter or slim, like that woman called tallest model in the world.

So, what do you mean? It might be something for me.

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

In Bulgaria at least men generally prefer petite women. From my observations women 150-165 cm are often with guys 180-190 cm. Those guys are rarely with women 170-175.

Ironically the guys that like those taller women are either 190+ cm or ones < 180 cm. We do have a fair share of what we call "Italian couples", where the lady is taller than the man.

It's really weird, I have no explanation why guys around my height (183) go for women below 170 cm here. For me a 170 cm tall woman is the ideal, even with 10 cm heels she'll be a little bit shorter than me. A woman of 160-165 cm would feel too short but many guys my height go for them. :D

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Hopeful_Addition7834@reddit

I see.

So what happens to tall women, or bigger/curvier women?

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

They're with men at least 188+ cm or men shorter than them.

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FreshRelationship575@reddit

Exposure to food hormons, the american chickens?

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Happy-Hour88@reddit (OP)

If so Bulgaria would be the tallest, our quality control is ridiculous, we import Europe's trash.

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