Hello CB

There is hardly a genetic type to be described as typical Dutch.  We
have forever been the meltingpot of Europe and like Kathryn writes, all
different types of appearance are found here.
Most traditionally seen as Dutch are indeed the fair-haired, blue-eyed
people. Not too tall up to 50 years ago due to the climate but more
heavyset in order to expose as little to the cold as possible. Still
taller amongst the Friezen where Kath originates from then our fellow
Europeans in the south or east.
My fathers ancestry is very Dutch, right up the the time of the
crusades, like Kath's, and from the north-east of Holland. My father was
not the tallest but most of his siblings are, especially for that time.
My mothers ancestry differs greatly, she is from Jewish background.
People that migrated here from Portugal or Spain and it showed. They
were all darkhaired, brown-eyed, and much darker skin. In a country
where everybody seems to be blonde she seemed a bit exotic.
It is true that in my fathers family everybody seems to die a lot
younger then those in my mothers family. My maternal grandfather lived
up to 101 and both grandparents from fathers side died before I was even
born. I'm not sure that their eating habits had a lot to do with that.
They both seemed to eat the same heavy diet and I can only conclude it
must be genetic or linked with the rest of their environment.

Still, at the moment we are the tallest in the world and pay a price for
it.  Don't forget that beside drinking milk we eat loads of beef and
chicken as well.  Now a few years ago scandals came to light in which
both meats had been treated with antibiotics that were used as a
growthhormone.
The FDA here is constant on the lookout for that but it seems to still
emerge from time to time.
So before it was discovered we have a whole generation that has
developed not only an immunity towards certain types of antibiotics but
has also grown more then only good food and healthcare can account for.
 With that came problems such as the backaches and I do not believe that
a person could grow to an unusual length without difficulties. Even when
the muscles are in good order and the bones are strong due to
weightbaring activities, there is always the factor that we are adapted
to the gravity we developed in and should not exceed certain things.
Just like too much weight can cause problems on the body, can being too
tall do the same thing but perhaps in different areas.
We do have our share of couchpotatoes but sport is a compulsory part of
the schoolsystem. All youngsters go to school by bicycle so they have a
fair amount of physical activity even when they don't join a sportclub
after school (which happens a lot).

My sister used to work for a Chinese dr of medicine. The dr has 4
children from which the eldest are born in China and the youngest in
Holland.  The older children were quite a bit shorter then the other 2
and the dr herself said that it must be due to the food. The youngest
were more raised with bread, potatoes, milk and meats then the other 2.
 We can actually see the same but in smaller variations under the
immigrants from Morocco and Turkey here. BUT, as the children from those
groups eat more traditional foods then the Chinese who adapted more of
the Dutch ways of living we can see only that small difference.  Amongst
immigrants from mediterraenian countries there is more of a tendency to
keep living the way they used to whereas the Eastern immigrants with a
better education adapted to Western patterns easily.  This is a
generalisation but one I observed.

Christy

>
>
>>I would appreciate it if you might extrapolate on what you mean about that?
>>(I'm in the U.S. and not familiar with what you mentioned. But I do have
>>quite a bit of ancestry from Holland, so am curious about both that and
>>
>what
>
>>typical coloring (hair/skin/eye color) you see there?
>>
>