Carl K. answered • 10/03/19
MD, Assistant Professor of Family Medicine
In reality, a person's height is the sum of a number of measurements, not just the femur. To suggest that the person is 6 inches taller, and all of that is femur would be incorrect.
If you assumed that the femur represents the same percent of height in each individual (a closer estimate, but also not necessarily correct) The first individual, the femur is 26.5% of the height, so in the second, 26.5% of 70 inches would be 18.6 inches.
Some individuals are taller in the torso than the legs, and some are taller in the legs than the torso. As an experiment, stand two individuals who are the same height side by side. Compare the height above the ground of the knees and the waist. It is common that although they are the same height, their waists might be a different distance from the ground. THINK: Do these two individuals necessarily wear the same pants length?
