Height anxiety refers to the anxiety people feel about their height due to societal pressures. It manifests as purchasing various height-enhancing products and even going to hospitals seeking height-increasing treatments. Height anxiety is related to commercial and social cultural influences, often misleading consumers into commercial traps or contributing to societal value biases.
As living standards improve, children’s heights are gradually increasing. Influenced by societal expectations, parents’ expectations for their children’s height are rising, creating what seems like an “era of fear of short stature.” Their children’s short stature has become a source of great distress for many parents—this is the so-called “height anxiety.” However, there are objective laws governing a person’s natural growth rate that cannot be defied. Instead of instilling the misconception that “the taller the better,” we should create a healthy living environment where children can exercise more, connect with nature, and develop freely in body and mind, allowing their natural development to take place. If we simply try to force growth, while height may increase, psychological maturity may not keep pace, ultimately leading to a severe imbalance between a child’s physical and psychological development.
Causes
Height Anxiety
Some observers say that the current societal phenomenon of “height anxiety” is largely a product of unhealthy commercial culture. Some businessmen exploit people’s fear of being short and lack of knowledge, setting up a series of commercial traps that deceive many parents and children. One netizen commented, “Only businesses are left advocating for being as tall as possible; otherwise, how would those shops selling height-increasing insoles and various so-called miraculous height-increasing devices survive?”
Utilitarian Purposes
Cultural scholar Tao Dongfeng once said that the culture of a consumer society is a culture of the body, the economy of a consumer society is a body economy, and the aesthetics of a consumer society are body aesthetics. However, people’s focus on appearance still largely serves utilitarian purposes, such as increasing their competitiveness in the job and marriage markets, and increasing their “physical capital.”
The Phenomenon
Height Anxiety On June 30, 2015, Wang Guoqiang, Vice Minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission and Director of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, introduced that the average height of adult men and women aged 18 and above in China was 167.1cm and 155.8cm respectively, and the average weight was 66.2kg and 57.3kg respectively. Compared with 2002, both the height and weight of residents have increased. Comparing the data and looking at oneself in the mirror, there are both joys and sorrows.
In a time when tall, handsome, and wealthy people are envied, ignoring the difference in height is nothing more than an Ah Q mentality: We see how Pan Changjiang, a comedian on the Spring Festival Gala, has been humiliated year after year because of his height. In 2011, Wannan Medical College in Anhui Province recruited master’s graduates and actually called applicants aside to measure their height; men shorter than 170cm and women shorter than 160cm were prohibited from participating in the written test.
Although the average height of Chinese people has increased rapidly in recent years, the commercial hype and misleading ideas about “height” have almost simultaneously occurred. Height has become linked to workplace competitiveness, mate selection criteria, and even personal charm. Height is no longer an isolated statistic; its numerical “backdrop” reflects a multitude of issues, including living environment, economic status, welfare, health awareness, body culture, and height discrimination—all worthy of serious consideration.
Main Impacts
Social Factors
Height Anxiety
Height anxiety is an individual issue, but when the height of a group changes, things change. According to media reports, starting February 1, 2015, the height requirement for free admission to scenic spots in Jiangsu Province increased, granting free admission to children aged 6 and under or under 1.4 meters tall. In many parts of China, the height requirement for free admission for children is generally under 1.3 meters, and some even under 1.2 meters.
The results of the fourth national children’s physical survey released by the Ministry of Health on December 31, 2006, showed that the average height of Chinese children increased by 6 centimeters over 30 years. Clearly, children are “growing faster,” and the height limit for free tickets should also “grow.” This is a requirement for urban management posed by changes in population height. If the height limit doesn’t adapt to the reality of changing population physical conditions and stubbornly refuses to increase height, it will inevitably cause a huge social backlash.
In fact, as early as 2008, the Ministry of Railways issued a “Notice on Adjusting the Height Limit for Children’s Tickets,” raising the upper limit of the standard height for children eligible for half-price tickets from 1.4 meters to 1.5 meters. This shows that height is not isolated; it has a social dimension under certain circumstances.
Die Menschen im Allgemeinen zu bewundern und ermutigen Sie groß und stark Einzelpersonen und großen Statur hat sich eine form der Anbetung. Allerdings erhöhte Höhe verbirgt sich auch bestimmter sozialer Risiken. Studien haben gezeigt, dass für jede 5 Zentimeter zu erhöhen, die in einer person in der Höhe, auch ohne eine Zunahme der Bevölkerung, die Zunahme der Höhe allein erfordern würde einen zusätzlichen 10% von Bekleidung und 16% von Nahrung zu versorgen. Es wird gesagt, dass, wenn die Füße waren ein Drittel größer, die Vereinigten Staaten müssten eine zusätzliche 10.000 Quadratkilometer Leder-jährlich produzieren Schuhe. MIT futuristischen Melzley warnt, dass die Menschen oft erst merken, dass die Krisen, in die Welt gebracht durch das Wachstum der Bevölkerung, Versagen zu erkennen, die Auswirkungen der Erhöhung der Höhe auf das Wohnumfeld. Darüber hinaus werden änderungen in der Höhe stellen eine Herausforderung für öffentliche Einrichtungen. Für Beispiel, die Höhe und die Sitzposition von Bussen und öffentlichen Toiletten, die Deckenhöhe von Kaufhäusern, Aufzug Spezifikationen, und auch die Größen von Bettwäsche und Kleidung müssen werden neu gestaltet oder verändert werden.
Höhe-Kultur
Für eine Zeit, es war eine ziemlich vulgäre Begriff, der in der Gesellschaft für Menschen unterhalb einer bestimmten Höhe zu: "zweiter Klasse deaktiviert." Dieser Begriff fast das Niveau der Diskriminierung, aber die zugrunde liegenden kulturellen hintergrund ist tiefgründig. Eine Umfrage gefragt, die Frauen über Ihre ideal der "perfekten Mann", einschließlich 30 Kriterien wie Einkommen, Auto, Ernährung, Kleidung und hygiene Gewohnheiten. Fast alle Befragten definiert das "perfekte Mann" als 1,83 Meter hoch, mit der anderen Optionen gewählt wird, hängt von der persönlichen Vorliebe.
Wenn Menschen die ästhetischen Normen für den Körper sind übermäßig voreingenommen in Richtung der Höhe, diese Abweichung führt oft zu absurden Situationen. Es wurde berichtet, dass ein restaurant in Haidian District, Beijing, einmal beworben, für Sicherheits-Wachen, die Angabe ein monatliches Gehalt von 800 yuan für Personen über 1,80 Meter hoch und 600 yuan für diejenigen unter 1,80 Meter. In dieser Art, Höhe und status wurden gleichgesetzt.
Im Januar 2002 wurde eine National bekannte Klage ist aufgetreten. Jiang Tao, ein Jurist aus der Sichuan-Universität, wurde abgelehnt für einen job bei der Regierung wegen seiner Höhe. In einem interview, Jiang Tao erklärte, dass, obwohl er war nur 1,65 Meter groß, er hatte eine gute Akademische Leistung und erfüllt alle anderen Qualifikationen ausgeschrieben. Bei der Verhandlung von seinem student 's not Associate Professor Zhou Weibao entschieden, entschlossen zu handeln, als Jiang, der Tao' s legal representative. In der Verwaltungs-Beschwerde-präsentiert von Professor Zhou, wurde festgestellt, dass die Beklagten bestimmte administrative Akt der Rekrutierung von nationalen Beamten verletzt der Kläger die gleichen Rechte und politische Rechte, zu dienen, als ein Staatliches organ der Arbeiter, die ihm die Förderfähigkeit gelten für ein öffentliches Amt. Der Kläger beantragt, das Gericht zu erklären, dass die Beklagte die diskriminierende Handlung in Bezug auf die Höhe der illegalen und den Beklagten öffentlich zu korrigieren und stornieren die Höhe-diskriminierende Beschränkung auf die Anwendung.
Die öffentliche Meinung hält, dass die es ist notwendig und wichtig, zu formulieren, physikalischen Anforderungen und standards, die auf die spezifischen Merkmale der verschiedenen Berufe und Zukunft-Industrie. Das Gesetz erlaubt die "Besondere Anforderungen für spezielle Positionen", wie die Höhe direkt auf der normalen Beschäftigung in Bereichen wie Militär, Polizei, Arbeit und Sport. Allerdings ist die Höhe nicht notwendigerweise mit zu einer bank qualifizierte Mitarbeiter. Die Entscheidung der bank, um auszuschließen, Jiang Tao, basierend auf seiner Höhe stellt unangemessene Vorzugsbehandlung und somit Diskriminierung.
Als Gesellschaftliche ästhetik bezüglich der Höhe verzerrt werden, was zu einer Reihe von unangemessene Phänomene, die Recht braucht, um den Schritt in dieses Ungleichgewicht zu beheben. Dies sollte berücksichtigt werden, einen wirksamen sozialen Ausgleich Mechanismus.
Value Ranking
In fact, people’s concern about height is sometimes not just about “charm index,” but also involves competition for other interests.
For example, there is a concept called “the politics of height,” which mentions a significant correlation between the height comparisons of politicians and election results in Western televised debates. Statistics show that in the 16 US presidential elections since World War II, the taller candidate won 11 times, while the shorter candidate won only 4 times. In the UK general election, Cameron’s re-election was even seen as conforming to the “Prime Minister’s Height Law”: in the past 40 years, no male Prime Minister in Britain has been shorter than 180 cm. This shows that sometimes, height is an advantage. A survey asking people about their satisfaction with their height found that nearly 70% wished they weren’t “the way they are now.”
However, while height has become more valuable, people may need to reconsider in the face of “fatal” health problems. After all, improved nutrition brings not only increased height but also a surge in obesity and various obesity-related diseases.
Currently, there are more and more obese people and children, and lifestyle diseases are becoming increasingly prevalent. Some intractable diseases and diseases of the elderly are showing a trend of affecting younger people—all due to overnutrition. Taking Beijing as an example, the obesity detection rate among primary and secondary school students in the 2013-2014 school year was 15.6%, an increase of 2.6% compared to the previous year. We are clearly unprepared for this trend. The “Nutrition Improvement Regulations” are still in the draft stage. However, some countries abroad have already made significant progress. Japan enacted the Nutritionist Law in 1947, resulting in Japanese people over 40 being shorter than Chinese people on average, while Japanese people under 40 are taller than Chinese people on average. In 2009, Japan even enacted legislation specifically targeting waist circumference, prohibiting men from exceeding 85 centimeters and women from exceeding 80 centimeters; regardless of rank, anyone exceeding this limit was required to resign.
There’s a saying online: “You can be short, but you can’t be both fat and short.” From the perspective of the nation and the government, the issue of national physical fitness should be given high priority, and support should be provided for national fitness.
