It went onto explain that short man has around a 19 per cent smaller risk of
developing the cancer than a man a foot taller than him.
A study in 2011 claimed the
likelihood of developing the disease rises 16 per cent for every extra
four inches in height among women – and a similar pattern is also seen in
men.
Dr Jane Green, who led the research, said: “The fact that the link
between height and cancer risk seems to be common to many different types of
cancer in different people suggests there may be a basic common mechanism,
perhaps acting early in peoples’ lives, when they are growing.
“Of course people cannot change their height. And being taller has
actually been linked to a lower risk of other conditions, such as heart
disease.â€
Heart Disease
A review in 2008 of 52 studies found shorter adults were around 50% more
likely to have heart disease, have a heart attack or die from the disease
than tall people.
On average, short people were below 160.5cm (5ft 3in) and tall people were
over 173.9cm (5ft 8in).
Stroke
An Israeli study of more than 10,000 men linked a 5cm increase in height with
a 13 percent increase in fatal stroke risk.
Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is linked to weight, but type 1 diabetes may be linked to
height.
There is debate surrounding the link between height and diabetes, however, as
studies conflict each other. Some have suggested children with diabetes are
similar in stature or even shorter than their non-diabetic peers.