What does your height say about your health?

Recent studies have found that height and health are linked in many ways. It's hard to imagine, but how tall can be a reflection of a person's health.

In a study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, researchers investigated the link between adult height and venous thrombosis, the third leading cause of heart attack and stroke. stroke. The team found that in a population of more than 2 million Swedes, men shorter than 160cm had a 65% reduced risk of venous thromboembolism compared with men taller than 188cm. The authors also analyzed pregnant women, because pregnancy can be the cause of these types of blood clots. The results showed that women who were shorter than 155cm had a 68% lower risk of blood clots compared with those who were 182cm tall.
Scientists explain that gravity may be related to this condition because taller people have longer leg veins. The increased pressure of gravity on the long veins in people with long legs increases the risk of blood flow slowing down or stopping temporarily, allowing blood clots to form.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC) estimates blood clots affect 600,000 Americans each year and that number is growing as average height is also increasing.

According to a 2016 review article published in the journal Lancet Dzheimer & Endocrinology, the risk of dying from cancer increased by 4% for every 6.35cm increase in height. Tallness can be a sign of overconsumption of nutrients, especially overeating high-calorie animal protein during the various growth and development stages that occur throughout life. or before birth. This can trigger growth processes that make cells susceptible to mutations.
In addition, adult height can also indicate the size of organs in the body, when these organs are larger, it leads to more cells at risk of mutating into malignant cells.
Other studies have also found that tall and obese men have a higher risk of developing various forms of prostate cancer and that high women are more likely to develop malignancies, such as breast cancer. ovaries, endometrium, and colon.

On the other hand, tall people have lower rates of heart disease and diabetes. In a recent study published in the journal Lancet, every 6.35cm increase in risk reduced the risk of dying from heart disease by 6%. The authors explain that taller people tend to have larger lungs and healthier hearts, which leads to this positive result. Plus, although overnutrition is linked to an increased risk of cancer, it may protect the body by triggering increased hormone production that helps the body control blood sugar and cholesterol levels. .

Preliminary research presented at a cardiology conference in April found that tall women were nearly three times more likely to have atrial fibrillation than shorter women. The larger a woman's body size when she is younger, the more likely she is to develop the abnormality. The larger cells in these women's hearts can disrupt the conduction pathways in the heart and put extra pressure on the lungs that can cause the heart to malfunction.
However, according to experts, the potential effects of height on disease and death risk are still very low and certainly lower than other risk factors you can control, like diet drinking, exercising, smoking, using drugs and drinking alcohol.
Reference sources: webmd.com, time.com
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