By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter

Height is not just a sexy thing but it may be one of determining factors for a woman's lifespan, a recent study shows.

According to Prof. Sung Joo-hun of the Graduate School of Public Health at Seoul National University and Prof. Song Yun-mi of Samsung Seoul Hospital, every 5 centimeters in height means a difference of 7 percent in female death rates or, in other words, women are expected to have a 7 percent less chance of death compared with women who are 5 centimeters shorter.

The study sampled 345,000 women who subscribed to national health insurance over a 10-year period from 1994 to 2004 and followed up on deaths among the sampled women, comparing their death rates by cause according to age groups. The study was published in the latest edition of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

The authors of the study were quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying that such differing factors as alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise pattern and affluence were corrected for into the study that showed 12,016 women in the sample died with a variety of types of cancer being the top cause at 40.8 percent. Circulatory diseases came in second at 26.8 percent, followed by strokes (16.6 percent) and heart attacks (4.5 percent).

For strokes, every 5 centimeters meant a difference of 16 percent in the chances of death ― women ran a 16 percent greater risk of death than those who were 5 centimeters taller. Diabetes and circulatory disease-caused death statistics showed a difference of 13 percent and 7 percent, respectively, for every 5 centimeters. In contrast, cancer-related deaths bucked the trend, as taller women were 5 percent more prone to death for every 5 centimeters in height. More specifically, ovarian cancer showed the highest difference at 29 percent, being followed by breast cancer, colon cancer and brain tumors.

In this study, women were categorized into six groups ― starting with those under 149 centimeters and closing with those 161 centimeters or taller. The groups in between were divided by 3 centimeters.

This study also conforms to a similar trend among men. A 2005 report showed that in men, every 5 centimeters in height makes a difference of three years in life span in favor of taller people.

The researchers attributed the results to a lower risk being run by taller women of being stricken with diseases affecting the cardiovascular system, diabetes and strokes. ``Except those who are abnormally tall, height is often taken as one measure of proper growth during their childhood and adolescence,'' Prof. Song was quoted as saying. ``This study should be taken to raise the possibility that growth conditions in earlier ages bear relations with lifespan from a long term perspective.''

hckim@koreatimes.co.kr

Originally Posted by mangohare I think you end up breathing less dust....

Originally Posted by mangohare I think you end up breathing less dust....

they say vanity is evil. but i say have vanity enough to think you're never below anyone in this world. doesn't matter if it's einstein or obama himself. you're a unique mix of many qualities. that makes you a unique being that can never be beneath anyone else. skin colours in that sense is such an insignificant matter
-entreri

Originally Posted by mangohare My face wood be at just the right hight.....nice and soft...smothered in nice smells..

Originally Posted by Biker Dude yea thanks dude.. thats the air freshener on the toilet seat. its about that height. haha!