Abstract

Japan#x2019;s economy made remarkably fast progress since the mid-1950s when it recovered to its pre-war level. Accordingly, children grew appreciably taller, as the food supply and consumption (animal protein intakes for example) increased not only in quantity but also in quality. In particular, Japanese children grew sizably in height, also in pre-war years when the supply of animal proteins was virtually zero. They ceased to grow any taller in the early 1990s, when per capita consumption of animal products, milk in particular, was still increasing at high levels. Trivial question on whether the increase in animal protein intakes contributed to body height growth in Japan is naturally raised. When examining child height development throughout the past century Japan, total food calories and other essential nutrients such as vegetables and fruit should be taken into consideration. Comparison with South Korea seems to fortify this presumption.