India, April 8 -- Adult height across countries - including India - is not increasing; rather it has remained stagnant or has declined over decades. Should it raise an alarm? Many development experts feel so. It is not just a health marker but also being used to measure overall development. This comes as a surprise given the general perception that humans have been gaining height with broad progress in access to better health care and also to food.

Height is a definitive indicator of good health or healthy growth. The World Bank Group's latest "Building Human Capital - Where it Matters" report has revealed this reversal in trends. The Bank's report has assessed the state of human capital in the world, which it defines as "people's health...