Research reveals impact of Great Famine on survivors’ height

Research reveals impact of Great Famine on survivors’ height

The Famine memorial on Custom House Quay, Dublin

Areas hardest hit by the Great Famine did not experience an expected stunting in height of the population, new academic research has found.

The research, from Queen’s Business School in Belfast and Edinburgh Business School, examined the impact of one of the defining events in Irish history.

It found that in some regions the survivors’ average adult height was comparable to – or even slightly greater than – that of individuals born before or after the Famine.

Around one million people died from starvation or disease in the Famine from 1845 to 1852.

A stunting of height is usually associated with malnutrition and disease.

The study used the historical data of 14,500 individua