6 Strange Ways Your Height May Affect Your Health

Remember the days in school when your height could be a potential reason for some added perks? Shorter ones would get to stand in the front row and get the nearest and best view of parades where taller ones would have to stand right at the end. But the taller students could easily aim for more baskets as compared to the shorter ones who had to struggle to jump higher. And of course, those fuelling nicknames inspired by animals and mythical creatures and what not.

Also read: Grow Your Height Naturally: Home Remedies To Gain Height

If you feel that your height was all about fuelling nicknames in high school, you're wrong. Irrespective of how tall or short you are, people teased you with the term beanpole or a shrimp, your height can affect your health in a number of ways. Though it may sound strange, height and health is related that too, closely related. Let's find out how your height can affect your health.

Being tall

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1. Lower risk of heart disease

Taller folks have healthier hearts. This is one of the clearest associations between height and health. For every two and half inches taller you are as compared to other people of the same sex, your risk of heart disease goes down by 14%.

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2. Higher risk of cancer

Though that beanpole height will save you from heart disease, it may however, expose you to a higher risk of cancer. As tall people have more cells in their body, there is a higher chance for these cells to become cancerous. For every four inches increase in their height, women are further exposed to risk of cancer by 13%. Tall women are more vulnerable to 19 different types of cancers.

3. Lower risk of Type 2diabetes (Only for women)

Taller women are less vulnerable to Type 2 diabetes. But the same was not true for taller men.

Being short

1. Lower risk of developing blood clots

If your height is somewhere around 5 feet and 3 inches and you have a balanced body weight, you need not worry about blood clots. You are three times less likely to suffer from a stroke as compared to taller people due to the same.

Also read: The 5 Early Signs Of Stroke You Should Know

2. Risky pregnancy

Moms-to-be who are as short as 5 feet and 2 inches tend to have a risky pregnancy. You may have a shorter pregnancy and even a preterm birth.

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3. Longer life

All those jokes about being a shrimp are worth it, all for this perk. Shorter people have a tendency of living longer than taller people. Researchers have proved that height is one of the many important factors which contribute to longevity.