Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
The Netherlands has long been the world's tallest nation -- but its people are getting shorter, according to Dutch researchers.
Although height has increased over the last 100 years, the study showed Dutch men born in 2001 were 1 centimetre (.39 inches) shorter than their 1980 counterparts. For women, the difference was more pronounced with a difference of 1.4 centimetres (.55 inches).
The 1980 generation may have been the tallest ever, benefiting from a huge increase in height.
Dutch men born in 1980 stood at an average height of 183.9 centimetres (6 feet), and were 8.3 centimetres (3.27 inches) taller than those born in 1930. Women born in 1980 were also significantly taller at 170.7 centimetres (5.6 feet), compared to 165.4 centimetres (5.4 feet) for those born in 1930.
The study by Statistics Netherlands, municipal health service the GGD and the National Institute for Public Health, the RIVM, analyzed 719,000 Dutch-born individuals between the ages of 19 and 60 who self-reported their height, and used the average height at age 19 as a benchmark.
The reason for the height decrease is partly related to increased levels of immigration from shorter population groups, according to researchers. However, growth also tapered off for individuals whose parents were both born in the Netherlands, and for those whose four grandparents were all Dutch-born.
Dutch men with no family history of migration did not show any increase in height, while Dutch women without any migration in their family got shorter.
However, the Dutch have stood head and shoulders above the rest of the world for their height increases over the past 70 years, with the streets of the Netherlands showing a very different picture in 2020 compared to the early 1950s, according to researchers.
While around 3% of the 1930-34 generation were at least 190 centimetres (6.2 feet) tall, in 2020 more than 20% is at least 190 centimetres, with 7% at more than 195 centimetres. In the 1950s, 42% of young men were shorter than 175 centimetres (5.7 feet) -- but in 2020, that figure is just 12%.
For the same generation of women, less than 2% of the 1930-34 cohort reached a height of 180 centimetres (5.9 feet). Among those born in 1980 however, nearly 10% are at least 180 centimetres tall.
The picture isn't uniform across the Netherlands, with large differences between the north and south of the country. Those from Limburg are the shortest, while Friesland natives are between 3 centimetres and 3.5 centimetres taller.
Researchers emphasized that the Dutch have not lost their title of world's tallest people, with those born at the turn of the millennium still claiming this status. They estimated the late 1950s generation to be the first to stake this claim to fame.
For years, researchers have tried to find out why the Dutch are so tall -- with studies suggesting that it could be down to natural selection and taller people having more children, passing on their tall genes.
This year's discovery is not the first to suggest growth is tapering off or that height is decreasing, with previous studies suggesting it could be due to an increased focus on plant-based diets and the stabilization of "growth-promoting environmental factors."
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.