 ::Is this definition considered universal? Do physicians outside the US accept it? I mean, it strikes me as really weird, because different ethnic groups have different average heights (not to mention man are usually taller than women - how can the same standard apply to all?). While a Scandinavian man standing 4'10' may be perceived as considerably shorter than average, the same height in other ethnic groups wouldn't be that unusual. I come myself from an ethnic minority in which short height is a locally renown trademark (140-160cm), so it would be interesting to know if this standard is universal, i.e. intended to apply to all human beings, or if instead a different height standard applies to each ethnic group based on their average height.