The Dutch, the world's tallest people, are getting that shrinking feeling

Dutch men born in 2001 are 1.829m tall on average, one cm shorter than the generation born in 1980, while women born in 2001 measure on average 1.693m (five foot seven), 1.4cm less than 1980. Photo: Francois Lo Presti/AFP

While the rest of the world literally looks up to the Dutch, the tallest members of the loftiest populace on earth insist it's not easy being big.

So an official study by the Dutch national statistics office finding that they appear to be shrinking might be construed as good news – even if it could threaten the Netherlands' number one spot.