In fact, grandmas all over the world are pretty short.

事實上，全世界的阿嬤都滿小隻的。

As they've aged, their cartilage has shrunk, their bones have worn down, and their muscles have deteriorated.

隨年紀增長，她們的軟骨漸漸萎縮、骨頭磨損，肌肉也開始退化。

As a result, your grandma has been losing about half an inch of height each decade since she turned 40.

所以你的阿嬤從 40 歲開始，每十年身高會縮水約半英吋。

But even before she started shrinking, your grandma was probably never as tall as she might have been.

但在她開始縮水前，可能本來就沒有長到原本該有的身高。

And that's because many grandmas were malnourished as babies, which inhibited their ability to reach full height later on.

這是因為許多阿嬤小時候就營養不良，阻礙了身高完全發育。

There were lots of reasons for this.

有很多原因造成了這個現象。

Historically, many people were chronically short on food, or lived through famines.

歷史上，許多人長期缺乏食物或飽受飢荒所苦。

Babies also used to get a lot sicker a lot more often, with illnesses that compromise the body's ability to absorb nutrients.

以前嬰兒生病的頻率更頻繁，有些疾病會降低身體吸收營養的能力。

Plus, we simply didn't know a whole lot about infant nutrition.

況且人類當時對嬰幼兒營養也所知不多。

As a result, malnutrition robbed your grandma of somewhere between 2 and 3.5 inches of her potential height.

因此，營養不良導致你阿嬤少長了約 2 到 3.5 英吋。

Okay, maybe not your grandma, but grandmas on average around the world.

好啦，可能你阿嬤沒有，但是世界上的阿嬤通常都有這個問題。

The good news is that, thanks to increasing wealth, better vaccines, improved sanitation, and more nutritional know-how,

好消息是，由於財富累積、更好的疫苗及衛生環境，還有營養方面知識的增加，

people of all genders and nationalities have gotten taller over the past hundred years.

不論性別與國籍，人們在過去幾百年都有長高。

And in some countries, the gains have been huge.

在某些國家，人們的身高高了很多。

Men and women in South Korea, for example, are 6 and 8 inches taller, respectively, than they were a century ago.

例如南韓的男女分別比上個世紀高了 6 到 8 公分。

That's about the height difference between Ever, our illustrator, and me!

那是我和插畫家 Ever 的身高差！

And it's not just about height.

不光是身高，

Well-nourished kids with normal growth have fewer health problems and an easier time learning,

營養充足，正常身高的小孩健康問題較少，學習上也較為輕鬆，

and go on to make more money than people whose growth is stunted from malnutrition.

能比受營養不良所苦的人賺更多錢。

What's more, the populations of most developing countries are still gaining height today.

除此之外，大多數開發中國家人口的身高仍在增長。

In fact, there are only a few places where the population has stopped getting taller in the last few decades.

事實上，過去幾十年來，只有幾個國家的人口已停止長高。

Very wealthy countries like the US and Denmark, where almost all people have enough food to reach their maximum potential height,

一些極富有的國家，如美國和丹麥，人們擁有足夠的食物讓他們達到潛在身高的最大值，

and very poor countries like Niger, India, and Papua New Guinea, where people still face major challenges with food insecurity, disease, and sanitation.

和極度貧困的國家，如尼日、印度，還有巴布亞新幾內亞，人們面臨各種諸如糧食短缺、疾病及衛生問題等挑戰。

In those places, we're still coming up short.

這些地區的平均身高仍然偏矮。

There is still a lot of progress to be made here, which is why the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation partnered with us to make this video.

這方面仍有很多努力空間，這也是為什麼比爾及梅琳達·蓋茲基金會與我們合作製作這部影片。

This year, Bill and Melinda Gates created the Goalkeepers report to track the progress of the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goals and inspire a new generation of goalkeepers to hold their leaders accountable and drive action to accelerate progress.

今年，比爾及梅琳達·蓋茲建立「守門員報告」用以追蹤全球永續發展目標的進展，

One of those goals is to end stunted growth due to malnutrition by 2030 through a range of programs designed to address health and nutrition broadly.

其中一個目標就是希望透過一系列廣泛針對健康與營養的改善計畫達成，在 2030 年前終結營養不良造成的發育遲緩。

But progress is not inevitable and there is still more to be done.

但這個進展需要更多助力才能促成，還有很多努力空間。

Check out the report by clicking the link in the description box below and learn how you can become a goalkeeper.

點擊影片資訊欄的連結查看報告，並了解怎麼成為守門員。