The bigger is better myth has been promoted in the last 20 years by studies that found that taller people have better health. In addition to genetics and heredity, adult height is primarily determined by nutritional intake during infancy and childhood. The better your diet, the healthier and taller you’ll be. But did you know how height inversely correlates with life expectancy?
Life expectancy is inversely related to height. According to studies, men under 5’9″ live 4.95 years longer than men over 5’9”.
Do Short People Live Longer Lives?
It is unclear why, or even if, shorter people are predestined to live longer lives. More research is required.
There are currently several theories:
Caloric limitation or eating less. This may be a factor that favors shorter people living longer lives. Taller people have larger bones and internal organs than short people. This means they require a higher daily caloric intake to function properly.
Cells are fewer in shorter bodies. Tall people can have trillions of additional cells than short people. This increases the exposure and impact of free radicals and carcinogens on cells.
When there are more cells, there are more cell replications. Taller people may find that replacement cells are no longer available to repair tissue and organ damage as they age. (Source: Health Line)
What are Common Tall People Problems?
Cancer and other conditions that may be related to height are examples of health complications. Here’s what science has to say.
Cancer is a Taller Number
A 2016 study of American men and women discovered a link between height, cancer risk, and death from any cause. The study examined death certificates for 14,440 men and 16,390 women aged 25 and up.
According to the researchers, an additional inch of height increased men’s risk of death from all causes by 2.2 percent and women’s risk of death from all causes by 2.5 percent.
A one-inch increase in height resulted in a 7.1 percent increase in the risk of dying from cancer for men and a 5.7 percent increase in the risk of dying from cancer for women.
The researchers took into account education level and birthdays. They concluded that their findings indicated a positive increase in the participants’ access to excellent medical care for conditions other than cancer.
Taller Women and Shorter Women
In multiple studies, taller women were found to have more Venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrences than shorter women.
In this case, having longer legs and longer veins where a thrombus could form could be the cause. Other potential risk factors for this condition include age, obesity, and long-term hospitalization.
Risks for Taller Post Menopausal Women?
A 2013 study of 144,701 postmenopausal women looked at cancer risk and height. Being tall was linked to a lower risk of developing all types of cancer, including thyroid, breast, colon, and ovarian cancer.
Height was discovered to have a minor but statistically significant impact on cancer acquisition. The researchers examined data from women who had no history of cancer. They also attempted to account for body mass index and weight.
In addition to height, many other factors could have influenced the study’s findings. For example, smoking and alcohol consumption rates have increased with height.
Education, ethnicity, income level, and use of oral contraceptives and hormone therapy may all have played a role. Cancer screening rates were discovered to have no bearing on study findings.
(Source: Health Line)
Source: The Mirror