I'm not an expert but I'm pretty sure they have fossils of paleo Homo Sapiens being just as tall as modern humans.

We are taller than Homo Erectus which were taller than Australopithecus so I think height does have something to do with evolution.

Okinawans are pretty short so I don't think height has to do with longevity.

Here is an outstanding article from an anthropologist on stature, health and other related matters pre and post agriculture. She concludes at the end that "taller" does not in fact mean healthier bones (i.e. more dense).

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110615094514.htm

Also this is critical: While our age span is increasing, so is our MORBIDITY rate! Average is 7-10 years now. Morbidity is the length of time you are ill (i.e. have chronic disease) preceding death. Therefore, while people argue (in the CW world) that our lifespan is increasing...all we are really doing is keeping sick people alive longer. We've accomplished NOTHING.

Slam dunk on your friend....10 points for the Paleo world...

As far as I understand humans got smaller in overall size and brain size at the start of the agricultural revolution.

Perhaps our recent size increases could be credited to the prevalence of growth-hormones and steroids in our milk and meat supply?

Humans were taller before the agricultural revolution, and we are just now getting back to where we were as we have been consuming more animal products. In the 19th century plains indians were the tallest people on earth, and they refused to eat anything other than buffalo.

OP, you said quite a bit with, "sick but aging". I've noticed in my work that over the last 23 years I've spent as a paramedic and a nurse that even over the relatively short time (compared to human existance) since I got into medicine that people are sicker longer and more debilitated during their time of illness (morbidity) prior to death (mortality). Sure longetivity has increased but quality of life has gone down. Most of the people who reach advanced ages would have been better off to have died much younger rather than being confined to a bed for 15 years, unaware of their surroundings. Those who are aware are miserable.

I want do do as I've said for years, and as Sisson recently said, "live as long as I'm supposed to then drop dead." I remember when I was a kid, old people worked the fields and were productive then fell over dead while doing so... much better than rotting in a bed at the nursing home.

And as a 20 year AHA instructor, I share a big part of the blame for preaching low fat, low fat, 8 - 10 servings of grain a day... I still teach for them, but not that crap any more.

I think you nailed it with how you responded to him.

Cancer, Obesity, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Autoimmune Disorders...

Which way is the trend going? ^^^ Up. On all accounts too.

That we are living longer is only more so a testament to the other things you threw out there like medicine, advanced surgical procedures, etc.

Besides, it only takes a moment of thought to realize that you gotta be outta your mind to seriously believe that refined sugars, bleached grain powders, and chemically deodorized oils from seeds is actually responsible for increased longevity of human life.

I think humans are living longer now vs. a few hundred years ago because of civilization. Buildings, heating and cooling, clean water, medicine, versatile food supply, etc. This is a relatively new phenomenon over the past 200-300 years, the estimated average life expectancy didn't get above 40 until the end of the 18th century, and then roughly doubled:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy

During part of this period I think the food supply got a lot better and people ate better, but over the past 50 years, I think this has reversed. I can't imagine anyone making the argument that the average food that the average person eats today is good for you, it is obvious from the worldwide stats that people are becoming less healthy every day.

Taller humans could be an effect of natural selection: people choosing taller mates, thus having taller children over time. That's a pretty straight-forward biological answer and is probably not the whole truth.

I have heard that my generation (the 20-somethings) will be the first generation to not live longer than their parents, probably due to diet. So for now we can say, yes we are living longer for a whole host of reasons mainly better medical care, cleaner living, proximity to resources (food, shelter, etc...) but that may not always hold true. The living environment will probably persist for my generation, but diet will probably be the weakest link and decrease our chance of living as long as our parents did.

It seems we are not living longer after all.

http://www.ecademy.com/node.php?id=20711

I think I would have said those are two separate questions. Supposedly, people under 5 feet tall live longer. I think a lot of times when people say we're bigger and healthier than we used to be they are using data that only goes back to the industrial revolution or maybe feudal times. Moving to cities with cramped dark accommodations, having limited access to food, and huffing coal smoke day and night did a doozy on human health.

Has anyone taken an average brain case size of people from today's various cultures? I read somewhere that we lost quite a few CC's of brain matter during the agro period because of the poor diet and crowded (ie disease-ridden) living conditions. Wonder if that's changed or remained the same?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010529071125.htm