You also have to remember that many Asian cultures have fairly short people. I am half Korean, so I see and understand the stigma associated with being part Asian.
It has to do with diet, for the most part ... Asians don't have a massive milk and dairy industry as we do in the Western world ... nor do they have a burgeoning industry involving the mass farming of large animals for consumption (pigs, cows, ect...). The typical Asian diet is by far dominated by rice and fish and spices for flavoring, with only the occasional other animal meat on the side with whatever vegetables or fruits they can obtain in season or preserve.
This diet low in protein and especially calcium leads to a slower growth in bone and muscle, which means that by their full adult growth, they are on average a foot or more shorter than the average Caucasian.
I still hear stories of how US Army soldiers would go into a bar in South Korea and "accidentally" elbow Korean soldiers on their left and right ... right in their faces, because they were so short.
This is quickly becoming a thing of the past, however, as South Korea has instituted a new program of importing dairy and meat from the USA and earmarking it all for children and students ... all of whom WILL enter the army after high school, as it is a national requirement. These days, I am sometimes hearing of US Army soldiers stretching their arms in a Korean bar and elbowing their Korean buddies in the low chest... And learning Taekwondo is also a requirement while in the army.
Beyond that ... when you do something day in and day out for your entire life AND maintain your flexibility (daily stretching, Kata, practice of Taekwondo), you won't experience pain unless you do something your body wasn't meant to do at that time ...
