Do Short People Live Longer

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Do short people live longer? This is a question that is often asked by a lot of people. While medical science has admitted that there is no correlation between height and longevity, there certainly does seem like there is. The obvious case would be Gigantism which may reduce life expectancy by 10 years. While people who have achondroplasia(dwarfism) don’t seem to have a lower life expectancy. These would be the main to cases that most people will think of.

How Does Health Effect The Life Expectancy Of Short People

We are familiar with the taller and shorter people in the society. But, the definition of short people is confusing. Who are short people? Most of us would judge a person by their height and say that he is below average height. So, he is a short person. Here is the confusion. The judgment is based on the heights. But, what if all the people in a certain country have almost the same height. Then, the entire community will be known as short people.

The confusion is that, these people don’t call short themselves. Its the taller people who call them short. For an example – Indian people are called short by the American people. But, the Americans are called short by the Dutch people. Before we discuss the longevity of short people, We must discuss how health can effect life expectancy. Now, the question is, Do short people live longer? The answer is not so simple. It depends on a number of facts. The health, weather/ environment , society and education have impacts on the age and longevity.

Health

Health is the prime factor behind longevity. A healthy person lives longer. So, if a person who is short and not healthy may not live longer. A short person who has tall siblings or tall parents, may not be healthy. But, in some rare cases these kinds of people may posses a healthy body. So, a short person, (born in a tall family) can either be healthy or he can be sick. But, the short person who has a short family members, may have an average lifespan.

The ‘Gene’ plays a pivotal role in the case of longevity. Its a theory of biology that every person borrows the lifespan of his ancestors. So, a short person who has an ancestral background of being short, will borrow almost the same lifespan of his family members.On the other side, a short person maybe born, in a family of tall members, In this case, the gene of his/her may provide him/her, either a good life span or a small life span. This happens because, the Gene, in this case, fails to provide his/her average ancestral life span.

Weather and Environment

Weather is another great fact behind the height. Those who live in the cold weather may have greater heights. For example – Indian people has an average short height than the European people. This happens because of the structure of anatomy. The mountains and the unequal landscape make a stronger and taller body structure. But, the people who live on the planes, may have a shorter height.

Now, the question is, Why are these facts discussed? The facts can make a great impact on somebody’s lifespan. Suppose, a short person is born in a country which has cold weather. The person will face many difficulties to survive in that cold weather. Here the environment and the weather may lessen his/her lifespan. Blood pressure and the anatomical structure of that person won’t be like the local people. His/her body may fail to adapt this cold environment. So, a warm weather is more suitable to a short person. The warm weather may support a good life span for a short person.

Society

From the dawn of Human civilization, Man has made the society to live together. Society always provide the harmony of being together. The average height of persons in a community appear almost the same. But, a short person in a tall society may not fit with the tall group of people. The person may lose confidence to talk properly with the people. This situation ain’t good for there mental health.

Some tall people may make life difficult for shorter people, which won’t help with someones mental health. Here, the society make the short person, morose and disappointed. The mental health is largely related to the physical health of every human being. While this can go both ways, it does seem to happen more often to shorter people.

Education

Apparently, it may seem that education has no effect on a short persons lifespan. But, this is not the exact truth I believe, while not in the sense reading a book will make you live longer. But by having more knowledge which will allow you more options in life. Education has a great impact on longevity, for everyone and not just short people.

The first reason is, education provide knowledge to a short person to maintain his/her health. The short/tall person will do proper exercise to keep himself/herself fit. These type of person will always try to gather information about himself/herself. If the person has any type of deficiency, he/she may try to solve the matter by his/her knowledge. The power of education is immense. There are many actors and many sports persons, who has made their names famous on their abilities. The more confidence they gain, their physical condition gets better. Education can diminish the boundary of height and it can provide a satisfied life with a longer lifespan.

Final Verdict

The answer to the question – Do short people live longer? – has no real answer I believe, there are to many factors to be able to have definite answer. There can be some exceptions in the case of longevity A person who is born short may be highly sick, and vice versa. Apart from this, some hereditary diseases may lessen the average lifespan of a short person.

A taller person with a good B.M.R may live longer. But a shorter person can also have a good lifespan depending on the gene, health, environment, society and education. It should be remembered that, there is no such verdict in medical science that tells about a strong bonding between height and longevity. A person’s lifespan depends more on the gene and environment, rather than his/her height.