News Humans

A gene variant partly explains why Peruvians are among the world’s shortest people

A common variation in DNA reduces some people's height by about 2 centimeters, on average

Peruvian man walking up cobblestone path

Peruvians, like this man walking in the ancient Incan village of Ollantaytambo, are some of the world’s shortest people as a population. Some carry a version of a gene that partly explains why.

JannHuizenga/iStock Unreleased/Getty Images

By Tina Hesman Saey

- More than 2 years ago

Nearly 4,000 common variations in DNA are known to affect height, with each one nudging stature up or down a millimeter or so.