Table of Contents

Foreword; Why the study of human size is important; Human scaling and the body mass index; Advantages of taller human height; Advantages of shorter human height; Body height and its relation to chronic disease and longevity; BMI and weight: their relation to diabetes, CVD, cancer and all-cause mortality; The obesity epidemic, birthweight, rapid growth and superior nutrition; Long-lived mutant, gene knockout and transgenic mice; The evolutionary ecology of body size with special reference to allometry and survivorship; Overview of research on giant transgenic mice with emphasis on the brain and ageing; Speculations on the evolutionary ecology of Homo sapiens with special reference to body size, allometry and survivorship; Birthweight, height, brain size and intellectual ability; Impact of body size on resources, pollution, the environment and economics; Final remarks on human size, scaling and ecological implications; Index.