response 25 of 50:

Mar 17 17:27 UTC 2006

Check your facts, sindi.

From a U of Fl website:

Patrick J. Bird, Ph.D.
Keeping Fit
Column 110b
1989

Q. In the United States, do short people live longer than tall people?

A. No, evidence suggests just the opposite. Throughout history well 
nourished people grew taller and tended to live longer.

During the time of Christ, for example, food was generally good and 
plentiful, and people in the civilized world grew about as tall as we 
do today. In contrast, between the 1500s and 1700s, population growth 
in Europe outstripped nutritional resources, and the height of the 
average male shrank to roughly 5'4" while life expectancy averaged 35 
years or so.

Considering that good nourishment is associated with taller and longer 
living people, it makes sense that the taller people in the United 
States would be living the longest. But information on American 
populations that might verify this is lacking. However, several studies 
conducted in other countries do show that taller people live longer, if 
they are not too tall or obese. One of the most extensive studies was 
done in Norway. It found that the optimum height for a long life among 
Norwegians was 6'0" to 6'3" for males and 5'7" to 5'9" for females and 
that those within these ranges can expect to live three years longer 
than the average for their age group.

response 27 of 50:

Mar 17 18:35 UTC 2006

The bigger you are, the harder you fall.

response 29 of 50:

Mar 17 20:02 UTC 2006

Klg's cite is ridiculous.  It is comparing people from different centuries.
Shorter people in the US, right now, are no more malnourished than taller
people in the US.

response 31 of 50:

Mar 17 20:16 UTC 2006

   #[1]NYTimes.com Health RS

             The Claim: Tall People Live Longer Than Short People

   By [3]ANAHAD O'CONNOR

   THE FACTS Everyone knows that being tall has its benefits. Greater
   social and economic prospects are two of the more obvious ones,
   studies suggest. But can a taller stature also mean a longer life? The
   answer: It's debatable. Scientists have known for years, for example,
   that as the standard of living in a society improves, giving people
   greater access to [4]nutrition, the average height and life span tend
   to go up. Widespread malnutrition and hardships, on the other hand,
   usually have the opposite effect.

   As a result, many researchers have argued that greater height is a
   reflection of better health, and in turn a longer life.

   One group of epidemiologists at the University of Bristol in England
   has published studies showing that taller people, after controlling
   for various factors, are less likely to die of coronary [5]heart
   disease, respiratory disease and stomach [6]cancer than shorter
   people.

   But others say shorter is better. One researcher, Thomas T. Samaras,
   the author of "The Truth About Your Height," has published a number of
   studies suggesting that taller people age faster because they consume
   more calories.

   In one study, published in 2003, Mr. Samaras and his co-authors argued
   that even the well-known tendency for women to live longer than men
   could be explained because men are on average 8 percent taller.

   Which side is right is not known. In the end, only one relationship
   between size and mortality seems clear: an expanding waistline lowers
   life expectancy.

   THE BOTTOM LINE The effect of height on life span, if any, is unclear.




--------------------
I also found mention of the fact that before modern medicine, childhood 
infections could cause people to grow up shorter.  In 1860 the average 
American man was the tallest in the world at 5'6".  In 2000 average 
American men are 5'8", Dutch men 5"10", and women 5" shorter.  (I had read 
elsewhere men were 5'9" women 5'4").  

Genetic disorders such as dwarfism also cause some correlation between 
shortness and reduced life expectancy, but so does gigantism.  They can 
often be corrected with hormones now.  

Malnourished mothers give birth to smaller infants, but so do smokers.

response 33 of 50:

Mar 17 20:41 UTC 2006

So, do you now agree that your original pronouncement is (surprise, 
surprise), at best, dubious?

response 35 of 50:

Mar 17 20:58 UTC 2006

I want to live to be a 100 year old wrinkly old pervert like rane and remmers
but at the same time I hope I don't contract some symptoms of soupy grey
matter whereby I start eating dog food off the kitchen floor and biting
people.  ;)

response 37 of 50:

Mar 17 21:19 UTC 2006

Of all the things to protest, I have to say I like you even more.

response 39 of 50:

Mar 18 00:26 UTC 2006

<blows on hand in front of face to smell dogfood breath>

Shh!! Hey man...you're going to ruin my dinner invites for visiting Grexers!

response 41 of 50:

Mar 20 18:05 UTC 2006

It's not that shorter folk live longer, it's just that people shrink as
they get older.  Therefore, the average old guy is shorter than the
average younger guy.

response 43 of 50:

Mar 21 02:00 UTC 2006

Does it matter what foods constitute "breakfast" (presuming that means the
first meal eaten after arising from a night's sleep)? Why? Why would anyone,
especially a doctor, care? So long as meals are "balanced", does it matter
if you have a rib roast in the morning or in the evening?

response 45 of 50:

Mar 21 09:28 UTC 2006

protein.

response 47 of 50:

Mar 21 22:04 UTC 2006

The bigger they are, the harder they...............hit!

response 49 of 50:

Mar 22 04:07 UTC 2006

re 42
what's your lunch like, then ?>!