If You're Tall, Your Problems Have Just Grown

We all know that a person's height can affect their daily life dramatically.  For example, being a little guy in high school didn't fare well for me.  It seemed like all the tall skinny guys just ruled the playgrounds those days, and the only chance I would have at girls would be if they left their glasses at home one day.

I was surprised to find out that being tall not only protects you from being a loser, but it protects you from developing some serious health problems. Great! But this isn't true across the board. Tall people out there need to pay attention because there are areas of their health that aren't so desirable. They may be more at risk than short men to develop some very serious health issues.

Check out these surprising health facts that effect all of us, tall or short. The crazy thing is that scientists don't really know why these differences exist!

Tall people may think that life is so hard when they shower.. 

Or when they are trying to capture the perfect selfie...

But aside from the little inconveniences of every day life, there are some ways that being tall can help your health, but also ways that it can lead you to be more at risk of developing certain life-threatening illnesses.  

Short people may have more problems with their hearts.

It has been well established that for every additional two and a half inches or so in height (6.5 cm), your risk of death from heart disease drops by 6 percent! That is a HUGE drop in risk. Basically, if you are 5 inches taller than your friend, you can tell them that you are 12 percent less likely to die from your heart giving out. Maybe the constant humiliation is what takes a toll on our little hearts :(

So this is great for tall people, but what explains this protection?

Some scientists think that those taller individuals may be more sensitive to insulin, the hormone that gets sugar out of your blood so that it can be used properly. 

Keep in mind though, short people, your healthy lifestyle can help overcome this...

The risk from being short isn't as great as the risk posed by smoking during your life or having unhealthy cholesterol levels.

Death from heart attacks isn't the only thing that tall people are protected against...

A more efficient insulin response may explain another health benefit: lower risk of type 2 diabetes in taller people.  For this reason, taller people are told to watch what they eat, but shorter people are urged EVEN MORE to check that sugar intake. But as I mentioned before, there are some very serious reasons for tall people to be concerned about their risk of one debilitating illness...

While tall people seem to be somewhat protected against heart attack death and the development of type 2 diabetes, shorter people have significantly lower risk of cancer.  That's a pretty big one, if you ask me!

 The risk is related to the constant activation of the growth hormone system, which may lead to a higher risk of tumor growth.  

So us short people have a reason to be hopeful, though this is bad news for tall people...

but really, in combination with all the great things that come with being tall – I think so as a short guy, anyway – life is still good.

Main image via Pinterest / Charles Janssens

Collage image via reddit / IMAFIRINMALAZER