In addition to environmental factors and lifestyle, body size also seems to have a decisive influence on the risk of disease.
Differences in body size can have health consequences throughout life. According to scientists, how tall a person is should influence their risk of various diseases. What sounds absurd at first glance is now confirmed by a current study: cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, but also cancer, are related to body size. Here you can find out why body size and an unhealthy lifestyle have such a major impact on the risk of disease and who is particularly susceptible to which disease.
Higher risk of disease? Germans keep getting bigger
The Germans are getting taller: while German men were just 1.67 meters tall on average in 1896, by 2017 they were almost 1.80 meters tall. And women today have grown a full ten centimeters with an average height of 1.66 meters. This trend is largely evident worldwide. However, the influence of body size on the occurrence of certain diseases has long been underestimated. Although lifestyle and environmental factors have a significant impact on an individual’s health, body size also appears to play an important role.
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Contrary to what many people think, however, tall people do not only have disadvantages. In fact, short height seems to be associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The genes therefore seem to influence the fat content in the liver and insulin sensitivity. According to Norbert Stefan, Professor for Clinical-Experimental Diabetology at the University Hospital in Tübingen, short people have a poorer utilization of glucose, which means that they develop diabetes more often on average.
A current evaluation by the contract research institute IQVIA provides similar results. The team led by Karel Kostov, scientific director of epidemiological research, examined the data of 780,000 adults. The result: For every ten centimeters that you lose in height, the risk of developing type 2 diabetes increases by 15 percent in women and by 10 percent in men.
Cardiovascular disease: Tall people less at risk
Tall people also seem to have an advantage when it comes to cardiovascular disease. A study by the Düsseldorf University Hospital with around 660,000 patients found that shorter women and men are more likely to develop high blood pressure or suffer a stroke. The risk of coronary heart disease, in which blood vessels are narrowed, was also higher in shorter people. The reasons are loud Professor Norbert Stefan diverse: “Fatty acids less, LDL cholesterol lower, glucose lower and hepatokines (liver proteins) cheaper.” Only taller men and women seem to have a higher risk of atrial fibrillation.
Vein thrombosis and cancer: Shorter people are less susceptible
The situation is different in the case of a thrombosis. If the extremities are longer, the blood has to travel a longer distance to the heart. According to the Düsseldorf scientists, the risk of developing a thrombosis increases by 23 percent for every ten centimeters of body height. These results are supported by a University of Colorado study. In the genome-wide comparative study of 280,000 US military veterans, the team looked for associations between 3,290 known size-determining gene variants and the health of the test subjects. And indeed: The risk for 127 different diseases was linked to size-determining gene variants. For example, tall people are more susceptible to atrial fibrillation, varicose veins and venous thrombosis.
There is also a connection between body size and the frequency of the disease in various types of cancer. The study by the University Hospital Düsseldorf showed that larger patients are more susceptible. The risk increases by 11 percent in women and by 6 percent in men for every ten centimeters of increase in height. Tall people therefore suffer particularly frequently from melanoma, colon and breast cancer.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. In no way does it replace a visit to the doctor. Unfortunately, our editors are not allowed to answer individual questions about clinical pictures.