Interesting endocrine facts and figures
1. Who is the tallest man on record?
The man with the greatest medically documented height was Robert Wadlow of Alton, Illinois. He was 8 feet, 11.1 inches tall and weighed 439 pounds when he died in 1940 at age 22 years; he was 7 feet, 1.75 inches at age 13 years. His condition was the result of a growth hormone–secreting pituitary tumor that developed before closure of the skeletal epiphyseal plates (gigantism). The tallest currently living man is Xi Shun of China, who stands 7 feet, 8.95 inches tall.
2. Name the tallest woman on record.
Zeng Jinlian of Hunan Province, China, is the tallest woman on record. She was 8 feet, 1.75 inches just before her death at age 17 years in 1982 and had been 7 feet, 1.5 inches tall at age 13 years. She also had a growth hormone–secreting tumor that developed during childhood.
3. How tall was the shortest man on record?
Gul Mohammed of India was measured at 22.5 inches (57 cm) tall in 1990; he died in 1997. The shortest currently living man is Younis Edwan of Jordan, who is 25.5 inches (65 cm) tall.
4. Who is the shortest woman on record?
The shortest adult woman on record was Pauline Musters of the Netherlands. She was 23.2 inches tall and weighed 9 pounds shortly before her death at age 19 years in 1895. Because of her relatively normal proportions, she is believed to have had pituitary growth hormone deficiency, although growth hormone assays were clearly not available in 1895.
5. Who had the most variable adult stature?
Adam Rainer of Austria was a 3-feet, 10.45-inch dwarf at age 21 years but rapidly grew into a 7-foot, 1.75-inch, giant at age 32 years in 1931. He was 7 feet, 8 inches tall when he died in 1950 at age 51 years.
6. Which is the tallest tribe in Africa?
The Watusi (or Tutsi) tribe of Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi, and Central African Republic are the tallest in the world. The men average 6 feet, 5 inches, and the women average 5 feet, 10 inches. Their tall stature is believed to be a genetic adaptation.
7. Which is the shortest tribe?
The Mbuti pygmies of central Africa have the lowest mean height. The men average 4 feet, 6 inches, and the women 4 feet, 5 inches. Their short stature is thought to result from genetic resistance to growth hormone, possibly secondary to deficient growth hormone receptors.
8. Who was the heaviest man on record?
Jon Brower Minnoch of Bainbridge Island, Washington, was 6 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed approximately 1400 pounds at age 37 years, when he was admitted to the hospital with congestive heart failure. He remained in the hospital for 2 years on a 1200-calorie diet and was discharged at 476 pounds; his weight loss of 924 pounds is also a record. He weighed 798 pounds when he died at age 42 years in 1983. His wife weighed 110 pounds.
9. How much did the heaviest woman on record weigh?
The heaviest woman on record was Rosalie Bradford, who weighed 1199 pounds in 1987. She also holds the record for weight loss, having shed 917 pounds over the subsequent 7 years.
