Most short people wished they were taller, but no tall person wishes they were shorter! Why do you think this is so? And while your height is a simple biological fact that you can do little to change, you may be shocked to find out that it’s influence on your life may be more than you realise.
Let’s consider some factors.
1. Money and Power
Taller men and women are considered to be more dominant, healthy and intelligent, and are more likely to be chosen for more competitive jobs, and may also earn more money. It could be that height is naturally associated with “greatness” and “dominance” – two traits that are important for leadership.
Since height also reflects nutrition as a child – so perhaps it acts as a more general indicator of your upbringing, which may influence your education and success later in life. Not all high achievers are tall of course, but on the basis of first impressions alone, taller people may have the edge.
2. Sport and athletics
You only need to think of Shaquille O’Neal, Yao Ming, and Usain Bolt to realise that height and longer legs are an advantage across many events. Longer limbs can cover the ground faster, and they can reach further. What’s more? In team sports like American Football, taller players are able look over the heads of their competitors, making it easier to pass the ball.
Yet sometimes a shorter body can be a bonus, because it takes less time for a nerve impulse to travel the lengths of their limbs to their brains, meaning that their reaction times should be quicker, and they may be more nimble – which may be responsible for why Jackie Chan is really quick on his feet!
Since it is also more cumbersome to bend and twist a taller body, whereas smaller people can do this better. This means that shorter people excel better in gymnastics, snowboarding, skating, skiing and diving. And isn’t it true!
3. Clumsiness
Think of your body a bit like a car: the larger it is, the harder it is to slow down if you need to avoid a collision – just compare a fuel tanker to a Keke trying to make a turn, which does it easier and faster? Of course, the Keke!
Also, shorter people have less distance to fall than taller people since they are closer to the ground. Perhaps this can explain why taller people are much more likely to suffer from injuries across their lifetime, which is surprising since healthier children tend to grow taller.
You might then expect height to be a good indicator of overall fitness, but when other factors such as diet and healthcare have been taken into account, however, taller people seem to suffer as they get older.
All of these factors are mere correlations, and there are plenty of exceptions that break all the rules. Perhaps all these statistics really just prove the old adage right that:
It’s not the size of your body that determines your fate, but the way that you use it. And that’s the long and the short of the matter!
Source: BBC Future
