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Does Your Height Affect Your Health?
The answer to that is yes. Aside from a person’s height having social and professional benefits, it also has backlashes on your health. Here are seven medical issues that may affect people who are taller or shorter than average.
1. Longevity
From an evolutionary perspective, taller people have a tendency to have shorter lifespans. Mary Schooling, a professor at City University of New York School of Public Health and Health Policy said that “growing faster and being bigger will mean that you’ll have a shorter life, and we’ve seen that in rats.” However, how that theory plays out for humans isn’t quite clear just yet. Although, some researches have shown links to short stature and a longer lifespan. Shorter populations seem to live longer. However it is still yet to be proven whether stature itself influences lifespan or if characteristics like nutrition socioeconomic status and disease risk.
2. Cancer
Cancer is basically abnormal cells multiplying out of control. School says that “being taller and having a higher risk of cancer makes come sort of sense”, since more cells might mean more opportunity for a cancer-causing mutation. The explanation works out in research on hormone-related cancer. Examples of which are breast, ovarian and prostate cancer, which are more common among taller people. Growth hormones, as well may be important, since studies show that a lack of it lowers the chances of getting cancer.
3. Heart disease and diabetes
When it comes to heart disease and diabetes, research indicates that short people are more prone to it. “Greater height might allow larger, more robust blood vessels,” says Schooling. Or perhaps taller people we fed healthier diets as children that lead to protection from cardio metabolic conditions. “We don’t know for sure if it’s really truly the height, or whether it’s something else which makes you taller and protects you against cardiovascular disease,” says Schooling.
4. Lung transplantation
Research suggests that people 5 feet, 3 inches or shorter have to wait longer for lungs and are more likely to die in the process of transplantation. The author suggests surgically adjusting the lungs to a smaller size can address the disparity.
5. Injuries
“Taller patients, when they take a fall, they’re going to go a lot further and… the impact will be higher,” Truumees says. Taller people are not just more prone to injury, but also their injuries tend toe worse than shorter people. Some data suggests that lanky people may have slower reaction times since their nerve impulses have farther to travel. This is most common for athletes, as taller teammates tens to have higher injury raters and take a long time to heal.
6. Blood clots
One study found that en 6 feet or taller were 2.6 times more likely to develop venous thromboembolism. Men who are both tall and obese are more than 5 times likely to develop the condition. In the most severe ceases, blood clots can travel to the lungs and cause death.
7. Spine, neck and back problems
Tall people are more prone to spine conditions like scoliosis. This can also be because most work spaces are not designed for non-average heights. “Short people, tall people – they’re all working around the same cubicle or work unit, and that can cause all kinds of back and neck problems,” says Truumees.
